The world’s biggest blog trip gets underway

The stage at Pole Pole - one of 19 in Ghent city centre

Dateline: Flanders, Belgium July 17

by Steve Keenan

Two weeks into the world’s biggest music and travel blog trip and all is very well. Nearly.

There was the Dutch music blogger who ranted about her access and interview demands not being met and refused to travel. And then there was the French travel blogger who complained that no-one spoke to her.

It was a bit of a conundrum for the organisers of Flanders is a Festival. Should they respond publicly to the complaints?

But while they pondered, other visiting bloggers unilaterally acted and publicly berated their complaining counterparts for their behavior and putting them right on facts.

Well, when you invite 100 diverse, worldwide bloggers to a huge party, there’s bound to be a few precious participants. Non?

Around 30 have already visited the festival, an annual two-month riot of live music across the country.

So I thought it time to catch up and this week visited Ghent, where the Feesten party lasts for two weeks.

You can easily see why it is the biggest free outdoor festival in Europe: there is live music on 19 stages across the old town, plus dozens more events in bars and clubs across the city.

On the first evening, @TineVdm showed me cool jazz in Hot Club de Gand before we drank jenevre next door at Ghent’s last gin bar, ‘t Dreupelkot. Then it was 1930s dancing at Swing Cite and acoustics in a pop-up Mirror Tent.

Other bloggers were in town: American @flyingknuckle and German music blogger @berlinerbeat who tweeted: “Interviewed J&A of @SCH00L_IS_C00L earlier today, then ran into them on the streets tonight. Rad dudes, playing a DJ set tonight.”

Next evening, I met a Colombian/German couple, @fiafexpress, who had won a competition to attend all two months of the festival. Together we went backstage at the Pole Pole stage to watch a storming set from Zimbabwean band Mokoomba.

A Dutch blogger, @croyable, was meanwhile settling in for the night in a pop-up hotel room hanging off the main clock at Ghent railway station. He was chosen as he only takes Instagram photos – and it was a very visual room (see photo, left).

You can see why bloggers are loving this event – and the thought that has gone into inviting the right people and giving them enough experiences to blog about.

And with 70 more bloggers to come, there will be plenty more stories to come out of Flanders.

Could this be the world’s most successful blog trip too?

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