From Destelbergen to Kallo, with stops across 16 municipalities, STROOM traced the River Scheldt through a tapestry of blue-green landscapes, each with a story of its own. In harmony with nature, STROOM created moments that will resonate long after the final note. 

This year, STROOM once again transformed the Scheldt Valley into one vast open-air concert hall. In Dendermonde, at Hangar 43, we welcomed 800 visitors to Uw vlees en bloed written by our festival thinker Jeroen Olyslaegers and composed by Jef Neve. In Antwerp, we watched the sun set over the Scheldt quays to the immersive soundscapes of DOMNIQ, while in Wetteren, we drifted through the Prullenbos by canoe to the playful beats of schntzl. 

In Bornem, we brought the rich history of the iconic De Notelaer pavilion to life with Les Âmes Perdues, while at the idyllic Roosenberg Abbey, we experienced how music and nature blended seamlessly. We concluded the festival with Camille Saint-Saëns' colourful and exuberant Carnival of the Animals, performed by Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen together with piano duo Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy, bringing the curtain down on an edition where music, nature, science and culture flowed together in perfect harmony. 

Our carbon-neutral STROOM boat once again set sail through the Scheldt Valley, bringing music to both the riverbanks and the water during a series of free waterside concerts. 

As part of underSTROOM, our festival thinker Jeroen Olyslaegers curated three performances inspired by the rhythm of the tides, inviting us to experience the River Scheldt and its surrounding nature through a different lens. 

This year, sustainability wasn't just a commitment behind the scenes. It was a shared story that our partners helped make visible, tangible, and felt. You could see it in our crew, dressed in circular fashion from Refind. You could feel it in Van Moer Logistics' fully electric warehouse fleet, which made our logistics more sustainable. And you could taste it in the refreshing drinks from Brouwerij Vicaris, which carried us through the warm summer days. 

Our partners also made a difference across various concert venues. Thanks to 100% green electricity from Air Plus Energy Solutions, several concerts ran on sustainable power. The University of Antwerp provided scientific depth this year, while Join For Water and Antea Group guided us toward more sustainable water use. 

STROOM may be taking a brief pause, but behind the scenes, we're already hard at work on the next edition. What exactly we have in store, we're keeping under wraps for now... but it won't stay that way for long.