Every summer, in the town of Geel (in the province of Antwerp), people flock to see some of the world’s greatest reggae artists perform.
It all started in 1978, when a group of friends “decided to throw an authentic reggae bashment”, as described on the festival’s website. A bashment is essentially just a big reggae party. It drew a big crowd, and the decision was made to continue. Reggae Geel grew with every edition.
A few years later, in 1981, the festival included live bands for the first time. Eventually, those live bands included some of the greatest musicians Jamaica had to offer. The festival in this small Belgian town was suddenly well cemented on the world reggae map.
In its current form, the festival encompasses three days and five stages and all sorts of food and entertainment to complete the experience.
Belgium is famous for its incredible festival circuit, which includes Tomorrowland, Rock Werchter and Pukkelpop, but let’s not forget jazz and – now you know – the oldest reggae festival in Europe.
