Hundreds of thousands of music fans endured disruption and disappointment this past weekend (June 25-28), as major festivals and outdoor gigs across Europe faced extreme heat and severe storms.
On Friday (June 26) Defqon.1 – a 50,000 capacity dance music event in The Netherlands’ Biddinghuizen – cancelled the event. Organisers explained a “code red warning” had been issued by Dutch authorities for extreme heat.
The continent-straddling heatdome weather event, that also brought record-breaking temperatures to parts of England, saw sections of the programme cancelled and fans evacuated at festivals such as Garorock (France), Paradise City (Belgium) and Scandal (Netherlands).
Holger Schmidt, General Secretary at European Festivals Association (YOUROPE), said: “I cannot recall a heatwave of such a widespread scale, particularly one accompanied by the highest temperatures ever recorded.”
Many of the thousands attending Dutch electronic dance music festival Defqon.1 were already on site when the instruction to evacuate was made late on Thursday (June 25).
“The unthinkable has happened…” Defqon.1 organisers Q-Dance wrote in an official statement. “We are absolutely devastated by this development. Tens of thousands of dedicated Weekend Warriors are currently staying on the camping grounds, many of whom have travelled far and prepared for this weekend for months. Asking them to return home tomorrow is the worst-case scenario, especially with a fully operational festival and everything in place to welcome them.”
Confirming audiences will receive a refund for their ticket, the statement continued: “This is a blow felt on every level. Not only by our visitors, but also by the artists, crew, creatives and everyone else who has worked tirelessly over the past year to bring this edition to life. This is not the journey we imagined, and the reality has barely sunk in.”
Many fans expressed shock and disappointment but also solidarity and sympathy in videos online, with some explaining they had travelled from as far as The USA and Australia for the electronic music spectacular.
Speaking to NME, a spokesperson for Defqon.1 said: “You reach a tipping point when it comes to the safety of your visitors and employees. Code Red is definitely that. We must not take any unnecessary risks when it comes to everyone’s well-being.
“We understand the visitors’ frustration, because we, as an organisation, feel it just as much.
The 2026 edition was also unforgettable – but not in the way we had envisioned. However, we’ll be back stronger than ever in 2027 – our visitors can count on that.”
Near Brussels, Belgium, Katy Perry’s 55,000 capacity Werchter Boutique headline performance was canceled due to severe thunderstorms. She later posted online “I am sorry I can’t change the weather, and even sorrier (sic) that all of us can’t be together tonight.”
Meanwhile, Fred Schneider, vocalist with dance-rock legends The B-52’s, described the band’s experience at The C Trop Music Festival in Tilloloy, France as “a total disaster”, with their set cancelled minutes before performance time.
Posting videos of the audience leaving the stage area during a storm, Schneider said: “Most of our crew was caught and had to duck under where they could for shelter. The festival was evacuated. We could not even leave because it was too dangerous to drive.”
“We felt terrible for the fans that have waited in the heat all day for us to perform,” adding, “Scaffolding even fell from the stage and destroyed our equipment. Keyboards, mic stands, laptops, sound equipment. All destroyed.”
Other events that were also disrupted – with parts of the schedule axed or fans instructed to take shelter – included Garorock (France), Paradise City (Belgium), Concert at Sea (Netherlands), Couleur Cafe (Belgium) and Scandal (Netherlands).
Artists caught up in the disruption across events included Tom Odell, Kaytranada, Mazor Lazer and Anderson .Paak.
Citing the strain put on hospitals and healthcare providers during the heatwave, French authorities banned the consumption of alcohol in public places during the annual Fête de la Musique – a celebration of live music held in towns and cities across the country.
YOUROPE’s members include 136 festivals from more than 30 European countries.
In comments sent to NME, Holger Schmidt said: “The fact that nearly the entire continent has been affected by the same extreme conditions is, in my view, unprecedented.”
“Looking ahead, success will depend on being as well prepared as possible – operationally, in terms of communication, and from an infrastructure perspective. At the same time, recent events have shown that some weather extremes go beyond what can reasonably be anticipated or planned for.”
Live music events in England and Wales were also under pressure during searing temperatures – June temperature records were broken three days in a row, with peak heat of 37.3°C measured in Suffolk on Friday June 26.
Many event organisers adapted their policies, explaining they were trying to keep audiences safe. Measures included increasing the amount of water people could bring, creating additional shaded areas and putting more medical staff on standby.
Concerts that took place in high-heat conditions included stadium gigs by Harry Styles and Take That in London, and shows from The Cure and Teddy Swims in Cardiff.
Had Glastonbury – the UK’s most popular festival – taken place on its traditional June weekend instead of taking a fallow year, audiences would have faced temperatures in Somerset of around 37°C on Thursday.
Hot or wet conditions for music festivals or outdoor events are not unusual, but human-induced climate change means extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more extreme.
A report, issued by a collection of the world’s leading climate change scientists at World Weather Attribution, concluded that the sweltering overnight temperatures during the late June European heat event were about x100 more likely today than they were just 23 years ago during the infamous 2003 European heatwave, because of climate change.
“The daytime peaks,” they added, “were about x10 more likely.”
Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating up at more than twice the global average.
John Rostron is the CEO of the Association of Independent Festivals (UK), whose member events include End of the Road, Boomtown and Boardmasters. He said festivals are increasingly having to prepare for the threat of extreme weather conditions.
“The ultimate challenge is that you plan and budget a festival a year before. A year ago we were ready for extreme weather, but we weren’t ready for this – at this scale,” he told NME. “This is a new thing we have to learn from and plan for in the future because it’s here to stay. This is the new normal. These record-breaking temperatures are going to be broken again and again.”
Rostron says that in 2024, 10 per cent of the cancellations of UK festivals were related to extreme weather, and urges greater action on climate change from governments and business.
“It feels like we’re still in this conversation where there isn’t enough action, there aren’t enough people taking it seriously that need to be taking it seriously.
“Out of a really dark week, that’s my one hope, that it brings about some action and change.”