Bomboclat Festival Turns Grey Zeebrugge Tropical
The typically grey coastal town of Zeebrugge has been transformed into a surprisingly tropical destination this weekend as the Bomboclat Festival brings Afrobeat, dancehall and Caribbean music to the Belgian beach. The two-day event, running from Friday 28 to Saturday 29 August, features approximately 100 artists from the contemporary Caribbean and African music scene and expects around 10,000 visitors, according to VRT NWS.
A Festival Built on Constant Dancing
What sets Bomboclat apart from other festivals is its relentless energy. “This is one of the few festivals where there is truly constant dancing,” said visitors Ditske and Melissa, who attended for the second time. “You immediately feel the tropical atmosphere. Even this drizzly weather cannot change that.”
The festival’s name itself is a Jamaican swear word — literally translating to “menstrual cloth” — used in nearly every emotional sentence in Jamaica. In Zeebrugge, organizers found it the perfect name for a festival dedicated almost entirely to contemporary Caribbean and African music, from dancehall out of Jamaica and bouyon from the Antilles to afrobeats from Nigeria.
Stages and Experiences
The festival grounds feature multiple stages, each with its own character. The Club serves as the unofficial main stage hosting the larger live acts, while The Dome focuses on electronic music — programmed on the opening day by HAUSCAT, a platform for contemporary African club music. The Roller Arena offers nostalgia with hip-hop and R&B hits from the nineties and noughties, complete with a roller skating rink around the DJ booth. New this year is The Cube, a stage where the festival experiments with heavier electronic genres like latin trance.
Beyond the music, the festival offers percussion workshops, hair braiding and African and Caribbean food, creating an immersive cultural experience. The inclusive atmosphere is a defining feature, as first-time visitors Marie and Magali noted: “Everyone here is so open and friendly. It does not matter who you are, how old you are, or that you come with your children: it is just about the music.”
From Niche Event to Cultural Fixture
Founded in 2017 by organizer Wannes Loosveld, Bomboclat has grown from a modest gathering into a significant cultural event. The festival is organized by DAMP OORD from Sint-Kruis (Bruges) and has seen visitor numbers grow every edition. According to Lokaalnieuws.online, the organization expects approximately 10,000 visitors across the two days.
Loosveld’s passion for the music began at age 12, when a neighbor with dreadlocks introduced him to reggae and Rasta culture over a seven-hour hair-braiding session. That experience became the blueprint for what he wants Bomboclat to be — an “eye-opener” for visitors unfamiliar with Caribbean and African music.
“Since the start of the festival in 2017, I see those genres breaking through more and more,” Loosveld told VRT NWS. “Burna Boy, a Nigerian artist, is increasingly in the hit charts, while influences from dancehall and afrobeats are increasingly appearing in mainstream pop music.”
The Cost of Success
But the genre’s growing popularity has brought its own challenges. “With the budget with which I assembled my entire line-up in 2017, I can maybe book 2 artists today,” Loosveld said, highlighting how artist booking costs have risen dramatically.
The festival also faces competition from other events like WECANDANCE, which takes place on the same location two weeks earlier, and has struggled with several years of bad weather. Finding sponsors remains difficult because the music genres are less familiar to many companies. “The broader festival audience in Flanders often still knows this music insufficiently,” Loosveld acknowledged.
A Cultural Mission
Despite these challenges, the festival’s cultural mission remains clear. “There are many Latin American and African artists who are huge names on their own continent, sometimes even worldwide, but who are barely known in Western Europe,” Loosveld said. “We want to break through that, because this music is so accessible, danceable and connecting. It makes people happy.”
For visitors like Maxime, attending for the fourth time, the festival’s appeal is simple. “The diversity here is great. You see people of all ages and backgrounds partying together,” she said. “But why do I especially like being here? To twerk, of course.”
As the festival continues to grow, Bomboclat stands as a testament to the power of music to bring tropical energy to even the greyest of coastal towns. With the line-up featuring headliners like Kybba, Broederliefde, Bamby, Stylo G and Lila Ike, the festival shows no signs of slowing down. Weekend passes are priced at €124.45, with ticket details and the full programme available through Festivalinfo.nl.