Thor Park in Genk was the vibrant setting for the second edition of the Happy Rebels festival for the employees of HR service group House of HR, which took place from 6 to 8 September 2024. This large-scale team-building event, organised by production house Sylvester, brought together more than 3,000 team members from all over Europe to thank them for their daily efforts on the one hand and to focus on their employer branding on the other.
The mysterious Happy Rebel
After the first edition in Eindhoven in 2022, the Happy Rebels festival now took place in centrally located Genk. This year, Sylvester brought the festival’s symbol to life by turning the Happy Rebel into a mysterious mascot in the run-up to the event. He revealed his identity, being Dutch actor, presenter and dancer Jan Kooijman, at the beginning of the festival and then fulfilled the role of host. This created an extra dimension of mystery and discharge for the audience.
Spectacular performances
The CEOs of the various PowerHouses provided the kick-off for the festival with a joint act, fully directed by Sylvester. This was followed by performances by, among others, 2-unlimited, Because It Can & Average Rob, Compact Disk Dummies, Laureen, Claptone, Bizkit Park, Christoff, Joyhauser and Jeugd van Tegenwoordig. A varied programme with something for everyone. Moreover, each PowerHouse also brought its own stage act, ranging from karaoke to DJ sets and even a performance with rocking Kiss guitars.
Together towards a sustainable party
Both Sylvester and House of HR are committed to sustainability, so when planning the event, everything was carefully considered to keep the carbon footprint within limits. This included, for example, using reusable cups and ingredients from local farmers.
Like the big festival organisers, Sylvester worked hard to organise a sustainable event together with the client. This ranged from using reusable cups, sorting waste streams to engaging local suppliers, caterers and workers. On the festival days themselves, for instance, we employed more than 160 workers from the immediate region. – Amaury Dewilde, Sylvester, Project Director Events.
Challenges and solutions
During the preparation of this grand event, Sylvester faced several challenges. It started at the pitch stage with a grand, multifaceted and complex briefing from the client: bringing together more than 3,000 employees from over 50 subsidiary companies for one big staff party. In addition, an already sophisticated booking system was personalised even further, as so many different combinations were possible in relation to attendance, sleeping accommodation and transport.
Bringing all our Happy Rebels together ensures that we receive people from all corners of Europe. Then you can’t organise an event for one day. We ask people to travel far and spend their weekend on this so we have to make sure we are fully organised from Friday to Sunday, and that for everyone’s preference. Free on a full-from-the-ground campsite with the tent or camper van but also on hotel. The more options, the more complex. For us, it was the second edition so the briefing clearly stated: help us keep this puzzle as simple as possible. It remains one of the biggest challenges of the project but the platform we were able to further personalise for our event with Sylvester is one to build on for the future. – Victoria Hemelaer, House of HR, Chief Marketing Officer.
Conclusion
The Happy Rebels Festival 2024 was a great success and provided the connectedness that House of HR was looking for. Participants showed how they put their motto ‘work hard, play hard’ into practice.
