Nina van Zelst
By Nina van Zelst

b2s has announced to change up Decibel outdoor: for the edition in 2019 the festival will be ‘bigger, better & longer’. We talked to the organisation about these big changes and what we can expect from three full days of Decibel outdoor. 

The changes that will take place in 2019 had been on the agenda for quite some years. ”We are always busy with taking Decibel to the next level. Something that plays a big part in this, is the opinion of the visitors. We have heard for years now that the Decibel visitors think it’s a shame the festival is only opened one day. And to be really honest, we feel the same way.” The organisation also noticed the terrain is way too big for only one day. ”There are hundreds of artists, there are different districts, loads of activities… You can never experience all of this in only one day. You need more time on the terrain to take make the best out of your festival experience. And this is our goal.” 

The reason we won’t see the changes until next year lies with the official approval. ”In order to make these kind of changes, you need all official services. This is a meticulously process, in which we have put a lot of time. In the end, we have persuaded everyone and we got to implement the plan.” 

”What makes this day even more unique, is that all districts represent another genre on Sunday in comparison to Saturday”

Let’s start with the first change: because for the first time in the history of Decibel the terrain will also be opened on Friday and Sunday. ”If you have a traveller ticket or a weekend with camping ticket and you stay at the camping or in one of the accommodations, you will experience the Friday kick-off at district The Beach with multiple area’s.” On Sunday, you can enjoy an even bigger part of the festival terrain. ”The big Mainstage is also opened, together with districts The Forest, The Lake and The Road. What makes this day even more unique, is that all districts represent another genre on Sunday in comparison to Saturday. In this way, even if you have a different musical preference, you get to experience the entire terrain!”

So Sunday will only be for the weekenders and there won’t be any ‘only Sunday’ tickets available. b2s is choosing for this in order to maintain the great atmosphere among the weekenders. ”Of course we don’t mean the Saturday visitors love hardstyle less then the weekenders. However, being at Decibel for an entire weekend brings a feeling of solidarity you cannot describe. Even though on Sunday the visitors have been partying for two days, they still go wild on the last day. That feeling is so precious.” Furthermore, there will still be many activities at the camping, along with pop-up parties, chill spots, a café and the Hangout. So besides the disappearing of the Partyground, the camping will pretty much stay the same. ”Believe us when we say it won’t get less fun, but only even more!” 

”We get so excited when we think of all the new possibilities”

Besides getting ‘bigger’, Decibel will also be ‘longer’: the festival will start 2 hours later and then also continue 2 hours longer. Starting later was because b2s noticed people weren’t coming at 11:00 anymore. ”The reason we are staying open longer is way more interesting. Since we can go on until 01:00, means we have more hours in the dark. We had one hour in the dark previous edition, so now we’ll have three! More dark hours means way more we can do with the show. We get so excited when we think of all the possibilities we will have with fireworks, lightshows, lasers and so on!” The organisation will of course also do big things with the districts that each have their own atmosphere and theme.

The fact there is more program to fill, gives Decibel more space for talents, longer set times and special acts. ”The Sunday will revolve around this more special, musical moments. Not only does it give us space to expand here, but also the visitors of Decibel will be able to discover their favorite acts. No rushing from district to district this year!” 

”There will be much more to experience, but we won’t up the price too much”

So, you can definitely expect many extra’s with a weekendticket. Luckily this doensn’t mean the prices will go up too much. ”There will be much more too experience indeed, but don’t worry. We won’t up the prices too much.” Good news indeed! b2s is very excited for the upcoming edition. ”Even though we work hard, we enjoy Decibel so much each year. We cannot wait for the 16th, 17th and 18th of August 2019 either!” 

Of course this is a lot of information to take in, so we have made a list that sums up all the changes for Decibel 2019:

  • An entire weekend of Decibel: on Friday district the Beach will be opened, on Saturday the big Mainstage and the districts The Forest, The Lake and The Road;
  • Opening times are changing from 11:00 until 23:00 to 13:00 until 01:00 on Saturday;
  • Many more shows because they have two extra dark hours;
  • Longer sets and specials;
  • Night Party disappears because Decibel Saturday will go on until 01:00 and Sunday starts at 13:00 again.


Decibel outdoor will take place the 16th, 17th and 18th of August 2019 in Hilvarenbeek. The early traveller tickets and travel packages sale starts the 1st of December via the official website of the event. Yesterday, Decibel also uploaded the official aftermovie of 2018, which you can admire down below.

Footage via Facebook-page Decibel outdoor 

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