This year the electronic music festival Paradise City in Perk, a few miles outside of Brussels, will be offering night train services to visitors so that they have the choice go home in an environmentally responsible way. Paradise City is known for its green initiatives and has been making efforts to improve them for years. The festival will take place from the 1st to the 3rd of July.
“Perk is a small borough in Steenokkerzeel, in Flanders. It is not as easy to reach as its city center,” said co-organizer Gilles De Decker to Belgian news outlet VRT. “There are few options for public transport, especially at night when the festival is over.”
That’s why we drew up a mobility plan so that people can still visit our festival in a sustainable way
Gilles De Decker, Paradise City co-organizer
Ever since the festival’s inception in 2015, the organizers have been committed to their responsibilities toward the environment. Especially in terms of transport, and Paradise City has completely redesigned its mobility plan. The organizers report that last year, the number visitors traveling by car accounted for the most significant part of the festival’s total CO2 emissions. By stimulating public transport options, Paradise City aims to reduce the number of visitors traveling by car from 59% to 40%, lowering the carbon footprint by 10%.
A Paradise City ticket grants visitors a 50% price reduction for train travel from any rail station in Belgium to Vilvoorde. To claim this offer, a special Paradise City Train Ticket needs to be bought. Visitors will find a unique NMBS/SNCB code on the Paradise City Festival 2022 ticket, which must be submitted when buying the train ticket online.
The idea is that we will put in trains that will run from there to major cities like Brussels, Mechelen, Antwerp and Ghent
Gilles De Decker, Paradise City co-organizer
There will be continuous free electronic shuttle buses between Vilvoorde station and the festival, offered by Brussels Airport. Departures back and forth are ensured at least every 30 minutes.
In collaboration with NMBS/SNCB and with the support of the European Commission), Paradise City will offer every night, two trains:
- Vilvoorde – Brussels – Ghent Saint Pieters (With stops in Brussels North, Brussels Central, Brussels Midi)
- Vilvoorde – Mechelen – Antwerp Central (With stops in Mechelen, Mechelen Nekkerspoel, Duffel, Kontich, Lint, Mortsel Liersesteenweg, Antwerpen Berchem)
The use of night trains is not the only way the festival is betting on sustainable mobility. Bicycles should also be an option to get to and from Paradise City. “First of all, we are expanding the capacity of our bicycle parking,” said De Decker. “We also have a bicycle mechanic on site, completely free of charge.”
According to VRT, the three-day dance event received four stars from A Greener Festival, a non-profit organization that helps events reduce their impact on the environment. It is the second time in a row that the festival received the highest environmental rating. This makes it, the greenest festival in Belgium, and one of the greenest festivals in the world.
