Rethinking the campsite with free party tents
What sets Paradise City apart is our structural approach to sustainability, embedded throughout the entire festival, from energy and mobility to scenography and catering. This focus is rooted in a clear belief: bringing thousands of people together in a natural environment comes with the responsibility to protect it and minimise its impact.
One of the biggest challenges today lies in the campsite. Together with KBC, we are now taking a concrete next step to reduce its ecological footprint by structurally addressing waste from disposable party tents.
A growing problem that could no longer be ignored
In recent years, the campsite's impact has steadily increased. In 2024, especially, it became clear that change was needed. Due to the festival’s growth and poor weather, a significant amount of waste was left behind: broken party tents, ponchos, and other abandoned materials. Images from two years ago painfully showed that not every visitor was equally engaged with the festival’s sustainability efforts.
“That was a real wake-up call for us,” says organiser Gilles De Decker. “We’ve been investing in sustainability on all levels for years, but the campsite remained a difficult area. It’s something we can only solve by bringing our visitors along in that story.”
We’ve been investing in sustainability on all levels for years, but the campsite remained a difficult area.
A new approach, together with KBC
In collaboration with KBC, Paradise City is introducing a new campsite policy regarding party tents. Disposable party tents will no longer be allowed. Instead, the festival offers an alternative: high-quality, reusable party tents for on-site use. KBC supports this initiative by providing these tents free of charge, subject to a €100 deposit. After proper use and return, visitors receive their full deposit back. The tents are sturdy, durable and designed to last for multiple editions. They will be reused each year, significantly reducing waste.
A global first test case
With this initiative, Paradise City is taking a unique step within the international festival sector. The project is the first large-scale test case worldwide where disposable party tents are systematically replaced by a circular alternative. Capacity is intentionally limited in this initial phase, allowing the system to be carefully tested and optimised with a view to broader rollout in the future.
We don't just want to ban things, but we also want to offer better alternatives.
The collaboration with KBC is part of a broader, ambitious long-term plan to further reduce the campsite’s impact. “This is not a one-off action,” says De Decker. “Step by step, we want to evolve towards a campsite where reuse becomes the norm. Not just by banning things, but by offering better alternatives and bringing people along with us.” Paradise City remains convinced that real change happens when organisers and visitors move forward together. With this new step, the festival aims not only to reduce waste, but also to show that sustainability and festival experience can go perfectly hand in hand.
A win for the campers, a win for the ecological footprint. If you bought a camping ticket, please check your email to see how you can reserve your free party tent. The link opens tomorrow at 12:00 CET. Since this is a test run, availability is limited, so we work on a first-come, first-served basis. If the project is a success, we’ll expand this program next year.