0110 concerts

The 0110 concerts, held on October 1, 2006 in Antwerp, Brussels, Charleroi and Ghent, were organised by dEUS frontman Tom Barman, Arno Hintjens and Frederik Sioen to promote tolerance in Belgian society, and "against Vlaams Belang, extremism and gratuitous violence".

According to the organisation, more than 100,000 people attended the concerts (around 50,000 in Antwerp, 25,000 in Ghent and Brussels, and 5,000 in Charleroi). Over 140 Belgian artists and groups, often in unprecedented combinations (like Daan and Plastic Bertrand, Gorki and Isabelle A, and so on), volunteered for the event. Tom Barman stated that this would not be a one-time initiative.

The concerts were sponsored by the Belgian National Lottery. Summer rock festivals like Sfinks, Pukkelpop, Folk Dranouter, Lokerse Feesten, Gentse Feesten and Suikerrock urged their public to support the event.

The event preceded the 2006 municipal elections in Belgium by just one week, thus sending a political message as well.

The right wing opposition party Vlaams Belang wrote an open letter to famous Flemish artists, such as Clouseau, Helmut Lotti, Will Tura, Johan Verminnen and Laura Lynn, who were announced to participate, asking not to do so. The party requested the boycott because the event "only targets Vlaams Belang". One Vlaams Belang council member has called upon the readers of his web log to start a "mail bombardment" to the concerned artists. Critics speak of an intimidation campaign by the party. According to the Vlaams Belang however, the intimidation came from the organizers of the 0110 concerts and the complete Flemish media against Vlaams Belang, because the Flemish media were partizan of the concerts. According to the party, the media in Flanders is completely in the hands of the left-wing establishment. On the contrary, no Flemish artist would ever even think to participate in a festival organised by the Vlaams Belang, because this would be responded by the establishment by an ever-lasting boycott against the artist. On a party congress on 1 October, Filip Dewinter was quoted saying that "if it really were concerts against intolerance, the Vlaams Belang would have to be guest of honour", referring to the cordon sanitaire against the party.

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Wikipedia