General

Best Kept Secret?

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Best Kept Secret is a three-day discovery of where music can take us. An ear-pleasing mouth-watering heart-warming journey through sounds, shows, flavours, hugs and awes.

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Time and place?

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Best Kept Secret returns on 9-10-11 June 2023! The festival site opening hours are Friday 14:00 – 04:00, Saturday 11:00 – 04:00 and Sunday 11:00 – 01:00. The campsite will be opened from Friday 10:00 until Monday 12:00. Have you booked a camper/caravan pitch? Then you can enter the campsite starting from 13:00. You will receive the specific check-in information one week prior to the festival at the latest. Please note: Have you booked an accommodation via Beekse Bergen, then you will find the check-in information in your confirmation email. Next to that you will receive more information about your stay one week prior to the festival at the latest.

Festival campsite

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The campsite for Best Kept Secret is located beautifully between the trees and on the edge of our magnificent lake. Here, you can pitch your own tent and prepare you very own habitat for an amazing weekend discovery of where music takes us. The campsite for will open on Friday 10:00, and close on Monday 12:00. Not much of a camper? Our friends from Beekse Bergen also have number of luxurious accommodations on offer soon. See our accommodations page for more info.

Go to Accommodations

Festival and campsite map

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Discover our festival site and camp site on the BKS23 map.

BKS23 Map (PDF)

I wish to know all the secrets...

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Your best chance to unravel all the dirt is subscribing to our newsletter. That way you will be brought up to speed by email for all the latest Best Kept Secret line-up announcements and everything else festival related. You could always follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well.

Newsletter

Age?

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At Best Kept Secret everyone is welcome. Young or old – everyone is welcome to enjoy the festival. Do, however, keep in mind that there are no special baby/child facilities available at the festival – nor do we provide special discounts for kids. If you are under the age of 16, you will need to be accompanied by an adult.

Best Kept Volunteers

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Without volunteers, there is no Best Kept Secret, it’s as simple as that. Since there’s much interest every year, the volunteer team for Best Kept Secret is normally quickly complete. Would you like to be a volunteer in our team or be contacted in case a spot opens up? Please send us an e-mail at [email protected]

Book your locker in advance

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There are different sizes of lockers to rent on the festival site and even with power on the campsite. Book your locker in advance to make sure you have one. Renting them on the spot is also possible, but they can get sold out. Questions about your locker reservation? Please contact [email protected] directly.

Go to the locker shop

Tickets

Purchase tickets

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Tickets for Best Kept Secret can only be bought via our website, which will lead you to our official ticket shop powered by Paylogic. That’s the only way you are certain that you are buying an official ticket and that you won’t be paying more than the regular ticket price. After personalizing your ticket, you will receive the actual PDF-ticket with barcode by email one week before the start of the festival (June 2nd). This way, we hope to prevent the reselling of tickets for exorbitant prices via unofficial ticketing platforms. If you do wish to resell your ticket, this is possible via our own official reselling platform.

Go to the ticket page

BKS Resale Platform

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Please... do not buy or resell your ticket on platforms such as Marktplaats or TicketSwap. People with less good intentions are active on these platforms and the old ticket will not be invalidated. We cannot guarantee the validity of those tickets and cannot contact the new buyer if there is any news about the festival. Are you unexpectedly unable to come? And do you want to resell your ticket honestly and safely? Then we offer you our own platform:

BKS Resale Platform

What are the prices?

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Weekend incl. campsite tickets are available for €255 excl. €10 service fee. You can also get a group ticket: 10x weekend incl. campsite tickets with each €15 discount. Weekend excl. campsite tickets cost €240 excl. €10 service fee. Day tickets will go on sale at a later date.

Go to the ticketshop

Ticket and park regulations

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By purchasing your ticket, you automatically agree to our terms and conditions during the buying process. By purchasing a weekend ticket including campsite, you agree with the Beekse Bergen’s park regulations as well. Please read these carefully before making your purchase.

Beekse Bergen Park Regulations

Payment plan

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This year, we do not offer a BKS-payment plan like last year. However, it is possible to make use of the financial services of Klarna. This way it is still possible to pay your tickets in installments.

I have completed the payment, but have not yet received any tickets...?

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If the payment was successful, you have received a confirmation mail from Paylogic. Like last year, we use ticket personalization. This way, we get a better idea of who the BKS audience is. Have you also bought tickets for your friends? They can personalize their own tickets. Login to your Best Kept Secret-account to send them their tickets. After personalizing your ticket, you will receive the actual PDF-ticket with barcode by email one week before the start of the festival (June 2nd). This way, we hope to prevent the reselling of tickets for exorbitant prices via unofficial ticketing platforms. If you do wish to resell your ticket, this is possible via our own official reselling platform. If you haven't received the confirmation mail, please contact Paylogic via the button below.

Contact Paylogic

I’ve personalised my tickets, but I want to give them to someone else

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The name of the ticket holder won’t be checked at the festival gates. So you can easily give them to someone else, as a gift for example! Won’t that be a grand surprise for your bestie? 😉

Can I go on Friday and Saturday and let my friend go on Sunday?

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No. At Best Kept Secret, weekend tickets will be exchanged for a wristband at the entrances of the festival. These wristbands are personalized and connected to your ticket. When you give your wristband to someone else, it will be deactivated. You can’t transfer your wristband to another person.

I want to upgrade my day ticket to a weekend ticket

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Great that you want to come all weekend! Contact our friends at Paylogic and they will help you to upgrade your ticket. Please note: downgrading tickets (from weekend to day) is not possible.

Contact Paylogic

Why do I need a BKS account?

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To process your order securely, you must have a BKS account. This way we can securely link your tickets to your profile and help you quickly with problems or questions about your order. All purchases made with your Best Kept Secret account can be found on your account page

Best Kept Secret account

Accommodations

Camping regulations

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1) You will be allowed to bring soda drinks and low-alcohol (max 15%) beverages, with a maximum of 4,5 litres, onto the campsite. 2) Gas grills, stoves, fridges, beer kegs and jockey boxes are not allowed on the campsite grounds. 3) An aluminium disposable barbecue and a small size camping gas bottle (max. 190 grams) are allowed on the campsite grounds, unless there is firing and smoking ban imposed by the authorities. 4) Caravans, campers and/or other means of transport or accommodation that, in the opinion of the organization, are not in good condition, are not allowed to enter the campsite. 5) Caravan, campers and/or other means of transport or accommodation with a twin axle or with a length of more than 7.75 metres are not allowed on the campsite. 6) Only caravans, campers and/or other means of transport or accommodation that are officially registered as camping ‘equipment’ are allowed to enter the campsite. Please note that it is not allowed to place tents next to the camper/caravan. 7) It is not allowed to place tents, caravans, campers and/or other means of accommodation, near the accommodations of Beekse Bergen. 8) Vehicles (and other types of vehicles such as segways, (electrical) scooters, etc.) are not allowed in the ‘car free zone’, recognizable by the roadblocks. 9) The organisation will seize all prohibited items at the entrance. Illegal substances will be reported and transferred to the police.

Link to the extended version of the park regulations of Beekse Bergen

Stay for 1 night?

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Unfortunately, you can’t. The campsite and the accommodations at Beekse Bergen are only accessible for visitors who’re staying the entire weekend. To camp with your own tent, you will need a weekend ticket including campsite ticket.

Camper/caravan spots

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For years, the camper/caravan spots have been very popular and therefore have always sold out quickly. For the upcoming edition of Best Kept Secret, we managed to redesign the campsite to have more camper/caravan spots as we used to.

Accommodation page

Rent a (luxurious) tent!

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Not in the mood to tediously lug a tent, pillows and mattress around and waste precious time setting them all up? We have plenty of comfortable pre-pitched tents and other accommodations available!

Accommodation page

Bungalows, chalets and more

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For Best Kept Secret 2023, Beekse Bergen will rent hotel rooms, bungalows, jungalows, safari tents and many more kind of accommodation options! Fixed accommodations at Lake Resort or Safari Resort Beekse Bergen can be booked through Beekse Bergen. Regular sales start Friday, 10 February, 12:00 noon.

Accommodation page

Question about your Beekse Bergen accommodation?

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For questions about your reservation at Beekse Bergen, please contact their Contact Center: call the Reservations Department on 088-9000360 (available Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 6pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 5pm) or mail to [email protected]

How on earth do I fold my pop-up tent...

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Quite possibly this is the most asked question we get regarding our campsite. To be honest, we’ve had little success ourselves. Thank goodness for this thing called the internet: on YouTube, this guy Bas is kind enough to give you some step by step instructions (in West Flamish) . Somebody give him a medal. Well, good luck!

Bas is the Best

Food & drinks

I’m hungry...

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You will find over fifty food vendors and mini-restaurants scattered across Best Kept Secret’s festival site. Whether you enjoy crab or chips, beet juice or fried snacks: our vendors have made cooking into a form of art. ‘The Van Gogh’s of the field’, as one British blog aptly put it. At Best Kept Secret, we aim to deliver a diverse and sustainable selection of foods and drinks. We take allergies and diets very serious. This doesn’t just entail fine vegetarian dinners and soups. We also realize the seasoned festivalite fancies a nice greasy meal every now and then…

Free tap water

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You can find free water taps at the restrooms. At the bars we serve a wide assortment of non-alcoholic, alcoholic and warm beverages. At Best Kept Secret your plastic cup comes with a deposit, which brings a grand slam of benefits: better for the environment, better to drink from and, more importantly, better tasting beer entirely. We do not serve alcoholic beverages to visitors under 18 years old. Nor should you, because that’s prohibited.

Special nutrition or medicine?

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First of all: several of our food vendors will offer suitable and healthy meals for vegetarians, vegans and visitors with an allergy. If you have special medical needs (e.g. if you are diabetic or coeliac) and need to bring in medication to the festival, you’ll need a doctor’s statement. Bring a printed version to Best Kept Secret to make sure our security knows why you are bringing medication. In case of other medical needs or questions, you can send an e-mail to: [email protected]

Payment

Payment options

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Simple, with either your debit or credit card. Cashless as it is. This means that at all bars, lockers, shuttle busses and food stands you will be able to pay with your debit or credit card. The pro’s are that you won’t need to get cash before the festival, don’t have to queue to buy tokens or to recharge your chip. Where ever you are, if your bank funds are sufficient, you will be able to pay directly without having to queue up to recharge a chip or to buy tokens. Another pro is that you won’t be left with a remaining balance on your chip on Monday.

Debit and/or credit cards

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You will be able to use cashless if you have Maestro, VISA, Mastercard, VPay, JCB, Up and Diners. Unfortunately, American Express cannot be used, so please take that in consideration!

Debit/credit card lost or won’t function

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If you lose your debit/credit card or your card won’t function, please go to the information desk. There you will be able to purchase special prepaid cards which can be used at the festival grounds. These cards can be purchased for a small fee by bank transfer, cash, credit card or debit card. At the information desk they are happy to help you out.

How to get the remaining balance of your prepaid card after the festival

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If you still have some balance left on your prepaid card, you can get it back by creating an account on www.mijnkniponline.nl. Choose the option ‘Register’ and then ‘Payment card’. This will be possible until 30 days after the event. If you have any problems creating an account or collecting your money, you can get in touch with [email protected]

Accessibility

I have got a disability; can I come to BKS?

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Of course! We are doing the best we can to make the area as reachable and accessible as possible, but unfortunately we can not guarantee that every bit of the wooded terrain can be accessed easily by people with disabilities or people in wheelchairs. Please send an email to [email protected], so we can give you special accreditation and instructions. Pay attention: Best Kept Secret does not offer special tickets or discounts for visitors with disabilities or their carers. Everybody pays the same price.

Accessibility

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Across the festival terrain lies a broad paved road that is easily accessible for visitors in wheelchairs. The biggest part of the campsite grounds are also accessible via paved roads. But keep in mind: Beekse Bergen is a natural environment, which means that there will be paths to the stages via sand and woods. It is not possible to take folding chairs or stools to the festivalgrounds. In every corner of the festival terrain, you can find plenty of places to sit or rest and relax. Scootmobiles are not allowed at the festival terrain because of safety. Do you have doubts about the accessibility in your circumstances? Please let us know by mailing us at [email protected], so we can give you advice.

Getting to the festival grounds

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Set up your navigation to Tilburgseweg 41, Hilvarenbeek and turn your navigation off when you see the yellow Best Kept Secret signs. Follow the sign with a wheelchair icon. Please note: did you make a reservation for an accommodation at the Lake Resort from Beekse Bergen? Then you have to take an other route to your accommodation, see the information on www.bestkeptsecret.nl/travel. All information about this can be found here. Do you use a wheelchair/ have walking difficulties and are you coming by car? Please let us know through [email protected] Mention the number of cars you’ll be coming with, and your license plate number. We will do our best to make sure you get a parking place closer to the entrance. You’ll receive your wristband for Best Kept Secret there as well. We have a limited number of parking places here, so please don’t wait too long with this request. From the disabled parking space it is still approximately 1 kilometer to the festival grounds, but this way it is way less crowdy. Also, the path is asphalted and easily accessible. Pay attention: the disabled parking space is not accessible without passing on your licence plate number to [email protected] before the festival.

Stay at the campsite

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It is possible to stay at the regular campsite. In the fixed toilet blocks you can find facilities for visitors with disabilities. Please pay attention: the campsite is a natural site, so it is possible some spots are not completely accessible.

Toilets for visitors with a disability

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Next to the First Aid post, you can find a special toilet for visitors with a disability.

Weelchair platforms

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Our two biggest stages have wheelchair platforms, which are exclusively meant for wheelchair users. Every wheelchair user can take one carer with them at the wheelchair platform: this does not have to be the same person every time of course. If the platform gets too crowded, the festival staff may ask the carers to leave the platform.

Assistance dogs

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It is (legally) allowed to take your assistance dog to the festivalgrounds, but we want to stress that the festival is not an animal friendly environment because of the crowds, loud music and light effects. This accords to the advice of KNGF Geleidehonden: ‘We are not in favour of taking assistance dogs to festivals, concerts and other places with crowds and loud noises. The dog can’t do its job and looses its guiding function.’

Green

As green as its surroundings?

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We are extremely thankful to be able to organize the festival in the amazing woodlands of Beekse Bergen. This is why we’re doing our best to preserve the environment as best as possible. Therefore, we employ a deposit system for drinking cups to avoid pollution. All beers and beverages are poured into plastic cups, which you can immediately return to any bar before the next round of drinks. We’ve been able to save almost two tons of plastic waste this way. We offer all other waste separately to the waste processor. We’ve conferred about this with our vendors to reduce the amount of food waste. Whatever remains will be supplied to the local food bank. A fair chunk of our stages and backstage production runs on fixed voltage. This reduces the use of generators and spares thousands litres of diesel fuel. Every year, we make a concentrated effort to become an environment-friendly festival. That’s why we urge you to treat the area as respectfully as we do.

Reducing single-use plastics

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We at Best Kept Secret want to use plastic as consciously as possible. We do this by using rPET (recycled PET). RPET is recycled PET material, that comes from for example used soda bottles. After the festival, the PET-material is collected and transported to a recycling company; where it is sorted, thoroughly cleaned and melted into new material. This means that using rPET causes a lot less CO2 emission than using normal plastic; that has to be made again after using it once. It is the only material that can be fully recycled when delivered at a recycling company, as long as they are clean and are separated from all other trash. From now on, we will solely be using cups made of this material, which means our cup recycling system becomes circular!

Cup Token cup system

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Upon arrival at the festival site you will receive a Cup Token. This token can be exchanged at the bar for a cup when ordering your first drink. Finished your drink? Then your empty cup will be exchanged for a new one at the bar when ordering your next drink. Don’t feel like holding your cup for a while? Then exchange your cup at the bar for a Cup Token again. If the cup is dirty or broken, the bar crew can no longer accept it and you’ll have to make a small payment for a new cup or Cup Token; since the cups can only be recycled when they are delivered to the recycling company clean. Also, our Cup Return Team called ‘The Green Team’ will be walking around the festival site all day for you to dispose your cup. You can recognize them by their green suits.

Wasps, caterpillars and other vermin

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Best Kept Secret takes place in a beautiful natural area. Which has enormous advantages for the vibe at the festival site and the campsite, but there are a few disadvantages as well. For instance, nests of mosquitos, mice, ants, wasps and the oak processionary caterpillar can be present. The presence of these animals can’t always be predicted and is sometimes dependent on specific weather conditions. Like previous years, we will do our utmost best to reduce any possible inconvenience of vermin. The terrain manager (Beekse Bergen) will do extensive checks in advance of the festival and where possible, will take measures to reduce the presence of vermin. Any mention of vermin can be done at the information desks at the festival site and the campsite, or at the reception of the Lake Resort. Always go to our Welfare tent when bitten or stung, just to be sure.

Other

Press

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If you wish to apply for a press accreditation, please fill out this form. All press access requests will be processed individually. Expect a reply no later than 7 days prior to the event.

Press accreditation form

Can I charge my phone at the festival?

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Next to the information desk on the festival site you can rent a powerbank (charging cables included) for your phone. On the campsite, there are lockers in which you can charge your phone.

Leave and come back in

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Sure! Show your ticket at the entrance, and you’ll receive a wristband. The wristband corresponds to the day(s) you’re attending the festival. Once you have your wristband, you can leave and enter whenever you want.

Lost & Found

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There is a place for found objects at the information desks on the festival site and the campsite. On Sunday evening, we bring all found objects to the desk at the campsite. You can pick them up there on Monday morning. After closing the campsite, we bring all found objects to the town hall of Hilvarenbeek.

We want to party! Ok?

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Yes, of course! We only ask that you remain respectful towards others and make sure that the festival will be just as fun for your surroundings as it is for you. Together with our partners Celebrate Safe and Are You Ok? we want to warn you for abuse of alcohol, unsafe sex or drugs and drunk-driving. Take care of yourself and your friends. For more information and to read the 10 pillars to Celebrate Safe, click below. We will be monitoring these rules during the festival. Any person who breaks the festival rule can be refused entry or will be evicted from the festival grounds. In case of discussion the organisation or one of the partners is always right.

Not allowed to bring

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Similar to other festivals, drugs, fireworks, (fire)weapons and dangerous objects (like – but not limited – to sprays cans or CS gas) are not allowed at Best Kept Secret. Apart from the objects named above, it is also prohibited to bring the following items to the festival grounds: food, glassware, tin cans, hydro bags (seriously?), (folding) chairs, stool, selfie sticks, inflatable objects, umbrellas and parasols. Refillable water bottles such as sports bottles are allowed, disposable plastic bottles are only allowed without the cap. We do love pets, but they are not allowed at the festival. A light bag or small backpack is allowed in. Please take in account that security might check your bag at the festival entrance.

View the houserules

Allowed to bring (campsite)

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Are you staying for the night on the campsite or in one of the permanent accommodations? You will be allowed to bring soda drinks and low-alcohol beverages, with a maximum of 4,5 litres, onto the campsite. Gas grills, stoves, fridges, beer kegs and jockey boxes are not allowed on the campsite grounds. The organisation will seize all prohibited items at the entrance. Illegal substances will be reported and transferred to the police. It is not allowed to bring barbecues or gas bottles to the festival campsite in case of wildfire risk phase 2. However, in consultation with the security services we decided to can an exception for gas canisters of a maximum of 190 grams. We do need your attention and care! Handle it well and hopefully this is still a solution to heat up your coffee or frankfurters. And otherwise, of course, we have plenty of food truck options

Camping regulations

Not allowed during the festival

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The safety of our visitors is is a big priority for us. We are always thinking of ways to protect your safety but need you to do your bit too. For your own safety and of other festival goers crowd surfing, climbing in trees or scaffoldings, swimming in the lake, starting a fire and smoking in all tents is prohibited. Public urinating is not allowed and is distasteful for others, smelly and completely unnecessary. Anyone caught misbehaving will risk their wristbands being taken off and removal from the festival grounds and/or campsite.

Check the houserules

Audio and video recordings?

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The organisation of Best Kept Secret, Friendly Fire, will be making video and audio recordings during the festival. We use this on our website or for social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube. Also, our media partners are recording video and audio for usage on their media channels, including radio and television. Recordings which are made for crowd monitoring can be used by Friendly Fire for safety reports. More info can be found in our Privacy Statement.

Check the Privacy Statement

Can I bring my camera?

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Of course! Like previous editions, Best Kept Secret 2023 deserves to be documented. We encourage you to share lots of pictures and videos on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (BKSfestival, #BKS23). Professional photographic, film and other recording equipment (this includes all cameras with detachable lenses), are not allowed. Digital cameras and camera phones are admissible on the festival grounds.

Hearing protection?

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Wait… I didn’t catch all that. SAY AGAIN? Just kidding! It is in everybody’s own interest to take care of your ears, so you can enjoy (live) music for many years to come! Best Kept Secret uses state-of-the-art systems to monitor volume and are keen to abide the law enforced noise limits. That said, we’d like to stress that you still wear some form of ear protection when you’re near one of the stages. Once the music jumps above 87dB, we recommend buying plugs with special music filters. That way, you can enjoy the music and still hear the people you’re talking to. At ILoveMyEars.nl you can find some useful tips how to protect your ears. A pair of good quality earplugs, which will protect your ears at the festival, you can get at the information desk on both the festival site and campsite. Cheaper basic plugs are for sale at the info desk.

Terms & Conditions

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A complete overview of the terms and conditions can be found via the link below. Note that by entering the event or by purchasing any tickets for the festival, you agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions. Please read them carefully.

Terms & Conditions

What are our houserules?

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The houserules can be found via the link below. Note that by entering the event or by purchasing any tickets for the festival, you agree to be bound by these Houserules.

Houserules

Privacy statement

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The festival organization is committed to protect your personal information and privacy. This Privacy Statement explains which data we collect and why.

Privacy Statement

Near by residents

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A festival the size of Best Kept Secret produces sound and therefore possible nuisance for people who live near by the festivalsite. At all times, we stick to the measures that Gemeente Hilvarenbeek has given us when providing us with an event permit. To check on this, certified companies do noise measurements on several spots on the festivalsite and its surroundings. In addition, we invest in new, beter sound systems to reduce the noise pollution. We strive to prevent nuisance for near by residents as much as possible, but due to changing wind direction and weather conditions we can not tell exactly where nuisance will unveil. For any questions feel free to reach us at [email protected]

I still have a question...

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Is your question not in this FAQ-section? Feel free to contact us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or by sending an e-mail to [email protected]