WORDS
ADRIAN MOURBY
PHOTO
FRANCIS VERQUIN / LUXEMBURGER WORT
“We’re one of the few
venues in the world built 100%
for rock. There’s a big appetite
for music here”
0 2 8
O N T H E S C E N E
L U X E M B O U R G
grizzled yet elegant
in his velvet drainpipe suits, belting
out post-punk ballads like a crumpled lothario in a
Parisian bordello, Nick Cave’s gothic stylings might not
be for everyone. There’s no denying, however, that most
of us knowwho he is.
A decade ago, the thought of such a well-known face
appearing on stage anywhere within the borders of the
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg would have been
laughable. But when he steps out on stage in front of over
6,000 locals on 15 November, he’ll be just the latest
celebrity entertainer to visit one of Europe’s tiniest
countries – and one of its strangest venues.
For anyone who asks where the country could even
accommodate a crowd of 6,000 – more than 1% of its total
population – the answer is Belval, a former steel plant
right on the French border and 20km to the south-west
of Luxembourg City. Development over the past few
years has seen it transformed from industrial hub to a
‘City of Sciences, Research and
Innovation’. When finished – the
first stage will be completed next
year – it’ll be part-town, part-
university, part-shopping centre.
For now though, it’s known to
locals as the home of Rockhal, the
first building to be constructed in the derelict plant back
in 2005. Quickly and cleverly making its name as a major
rock venue, it’s hosted big names such as Elton John,
Prince, The Killers, Daft Punk andThe Prodigy.
“We’re one of the few venues in the world built
100% for rock,” says Thomas Roscheck, director of
Rockhal, who believes this is what’s attracting the
headline acts. “There’s a big appetite for music here.”
Perched so close to the border, a lot of the venue’s
audience comes from France. “But in Luxembourg,
public transport is free out to Belval every time there’s a
concert,” Roscheck says. This
municipal support is key in
knocking the assumption that
Luxembourg is a boring place full of
politicos. “For younger people, it’s
no longer just home to the European
Court of Justice,” he adds. “It’s changing.”
There are other signs of this elsewhere in the tiny
Grand Duchy. The 1,200-seat Den Atelier
(atelier.lu)
, in
Luxembourg City’s station area, recently featured Hugh
Laurie, Elvis Costello and Surf Cowboys. Its gleaming
Philharmonie
(philharmonie.lu)
, up on the Kirchberg
lateau, has 1,300 seats, and a varied programme of jazz
and world music, alongside concerts by its resident
orchestra, the Luxembourg Philharmonic.
But nothing comes anywhere near the impact of
Rockhal and Belval itself. Until 2001, the place was just a
Rock city
A former steel plant in Luxembourg is
staking a claim as Europe’s coolest music
venue – and that’s only the beginning...
