Antwerp's Sinksenfoor ride operators see 40% drop in income

The operators of attractions at the annual Sinksenfoor fair in Antwerp are reporting as much as 40% less income this year compared to last year. The fair was previously staged in the giant Zuiderdokken parking area near the waterfront before moving to its new location at the former railyard Park Spoor Oost in the Borgerhout district. “Sadly our predictions have come true,” said Denis Delforge, spokesperson for the association of fair attraction operators in Belgium. 

The move east to Park Spoor Oost followed several years of bitter dispute after a handful of residents of the Zuiderdokken area took legal action against Sinksenfoor for noise nuisance. They won their case amid vandalism and even death threats, and the fair was forced to move to the quays along the river Scheldt for one year while a permanent solution was found.

Last year, it was back at the original location, when it was proposed that it take place on the land owned by the rail infrastructure company Infrabel. A neighbourhood association is trying to convince Infrabel and the city to turn the empty property into a park and community space.

“Of the 143 attractions, only a handful are doing better now compared to the last edition in ’t Zuid,” said one operator. “The others are suffering severe losses. And the fact that the fair is being allowed to stay longer this year than usual will not make up for the losses.”

“The city of Antwerp has done everything it could to give us what we need,” said Delforge. “But this location is quite simply not suitable for a fair. The first weeks were all right because people were curious to see the new location. Then everything went quiet. In any future edition, the curiosity factor will be gone, and the whole fair risks being a flop.”

Photo by Nicolas Maeterlinck/BELGA