Het Groot Verlof

Het Groot Verlof is an exciting, new summer programme of events hosted in the Belgian city of Leuven during July and August. The Leuven festival scene is no stranger to Stageco, as witnessed by the Eighties and Nineties peaks of Marktrock when Stageco provided most of its staging. Sadly, with the reduction in size and eventual disappearance of that iconic festival Stageco made its exit some years ago. However when the city of Leuven decided to revamp its summer festivities in co-operation with the non-profit organisation Leuvenement, Stageco was more than happy to see some of the old and familiar faces being brought in again to take care of the festivities on the Oude Markt (Old Market) as part of Het Groot Verlof – Flemish slang for ‘Summer Holidays’. The talent bookings for this stage were once again on an ambitious scale and this meant that the associated technical requirements were perfectly matched to Stageco’s services. The team built a 25m x 10m festival stage with a 22m x 4m upstage covered backstage extension as well as access ramps, a front of house control tower and six delay towers. An eight-strong Belgian crew built the various structures from four trailer loads of equipment over a three-day period. Stageco Belgium also provided a multi-storey open summer terrace built on different levels around a statue on the Hogeschoolplein to create an outdoor location for social evenings and workshops, as well as being a place for people to relax on sunny days.