Dear neighbour,

As you may already know, the 12th edition of the Horst Festival takes place at Asiat Park on Thursday 14th, Friday 15th, and Saturday 16th of May 2026. Horst is a three-day celebration of art, music, and architecture, featuring 9 stages, more than 700 volunteers, and around 145 artists, architects, and musicians from Belgium and abroad. This year, we expect about 12,000 visitors each day. The festival is completely sold out. Around 3,000 visitors will stay at the camping site in Rolleveld Park, located a short distance away.

Horst Arts & Music is organised in partnership by Onkruid BV and vzw De Onderstroom, with the support of the City of Vilvoorde. Through this exhibition and festival, Horst aims to contribute to the cultural development of Asiat Park and Vilvoorde.

As a local resident, we would like to warmly invite you to the neighbourhood event on May 7th. The program for the evening is as follows:

• 19:00 — Behind-the-scenes tour of the festival. Some artworks and stages will still be under construction, while others can already be discovered.
  
  
• 20:30 — Drinks at the Niteshop. Join us for a drink at this new space where young people from Vilvoorde can discover their talents and learn about entrepreneurship.
  
  
• 21:00 — At nightfall, we will head to Le Soleil Rouge. This is a Horst festival stage with a view of the cooling towers. On one of these two Vilvoorde landmarks, we will project massive photos that showcase our city in a unique way. The evening will be introduced with a short speech by our mayor and aldermen.
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This letter also provides insight into the festival's potential impacts on the neighbourhood:

• Opening hours. The festival takes place on Thursday 14, Friday 15, and Saturday 16 May 2026. Each festival day starts at 13:00 and ends at 02:00.
  
  
• Build-up, breakdown, and cleanup. Build-up continues until the opening on Thursday, May 14th. Breakdown and cleanup start immediately after the event ends. The site will be temporarily handed over on Friday, May 22nd, followed by one more week of work to clear the final items.
  
  
• Accessibility Asiat Park. For safety reasons, certain entrances and areas of the park will be closed from Saturday, May 9th to Monday, May 18th. Entrances at Kerkhofstraat and Mechelsesteenweg will remain accessible.
  
  
• Parking restrictions. A parking ban will be in effect in Willem Elsschotstraat, Cyriel Buyssestraat, Kerkhofstraat, and Abeelstraat during the festival. These streets will only be accessible to local traffic from established businesses and authorized persons. Herman Teirlinckstraat and August Vermeylenstraat are accessible via Mechelsesteenweg but will be closed near Cyriel Buyssestraat.
  
  
• Parking. The festival parking is located at Marius Duchéstraat 150. Traffic around Asiat Park, Rolleveld, and the parking lot may increase slightly at the start and end of each day. We encourage visitors to come by bike or public transport. Stewards will patrol around Rolleveld to direct visitors to the correct parking.
  
  
• Camping. Located in Rolleveld Park. The park will be partially closed to the public from Wednesday, May 13th at 09:00 until Monday, May 18th at 08:00. From 22:00 onwards, visitors are asked to keep noise to a minimum.
  
  
• Contact. For any questions or comments during the festival weekend, you can reach the organization at buren@horstartsandmusic.com.
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Benefit for Vilvoorde residents

Residents (postal code 1800) are entitled to an exceptional discount rate. If they report to the info point with their ticket and ID card (and the domicile matches), they will receive €20 (day ticket) or €40 (weekend ticket) in food or drink credit.

Thank you for your understanding; we hope to welcome you at Asiat Park this summer.

Best regards,
The Horst Arts & Music team