Antwerp Festivities
Every August, Antwerp celebrates with free outdoor events centred on the Bollekesfeest — a large outdoor party in the historic city centre celebrating Antwerp’s famous De Koninck beer.
✅ Free admission — the Antwerp Summer Festival is completely free. Performances, street theatre and activities across the city are open to everyone.
Free entry — largely free to attend.
A celebration of Antwerp identity
The De Koninck brewery, founded in 1833, is a symbol of Antwerp culture. The round glass — the “bolleke” — gives the festival its name. Multiple stages throughout the city centre with performances from local bands to well-known Belgian artists, against the backdrop of Antwerp’s magnificent historic architecture.
Squares, stages and street theatre
Over the weekend the historic centre turns into a string of stages and terraces on the squares around the cathedral and the old Grote Markt. Everyone from local bands to well-known Belgian artists performs against a backdrop of centuries-old façades, and the contrast between the historic architecture and the festive crowds gives the whole thing an atmosphere you’ll find in few other Belgian cities. Street theatre and smaller acts fill the squares and the streets in between, so there’s something happening on almost every corner.
Low-threshold by design
What sets Antwerpse Feesten apart from many other summer festivals is how low the threshold is. There’s no separate festival ground, no fence, no ticket required: the city itself is the festival site. Residents and visitors wander effortlessly from one stage to the next, often with a bolleke in hand, and the mood stays relaxed and easy-going all weekend.
Bollekesfeest is also a moment when Antwerp puts its beer culture in the spotlight. Alongside the performances there’s plenty of opportunity to get to know the beer the whole event is named after, in a setting that feels far more authentic than an average terrace. For fans of Belgian beer, it’s an ideal moment to discover Antwerp, glass in hand.
Around the stages you’ll also find stalls selling local snacks, from fries to the well-known Antwerpse handjes, the chocolate and pastry shaped after a local legend. Whole families turn out together: grandparents who’ve been coming to Bollekesfeest for decades, parents passing the tradition on to their children, and tourists who happen to be in the city that weekend and end up right in the middle of the party.
The Antwerpse Feesten take place annually on the second weekend of August, in Antwerp’s historic city centre. Access to almost the entire programme is free. The city is excellently connected by train via Antwerpen-Centraal station, from which the centre is within walking distance. Current information on the programme and exact stage locations can be found at bollekesfeest.be.
Anyone spending a weekend in Antwerp in August doesn’t need to plan anything to end up in the middle of a big city celebration — Bollekesfeest simply comes to you.
Practical info
- • Date: second weekend of August
- • Entry: largely free
- • Location: historic city centre Antwerp
- • More info: bollekesfeest.be