The Spa 17 – 27 area (also known as 17 – 27 Blanchimont) is an area with a festival feel strictly for people between 17 and 27 years old. Within it is a grandstand with views of Stavelot and Curve Paul Frere on the Spa Francorchamps Grand Prix circuit.
This article provides a spectator’s guide to the 17 – 27 area and grandstand, including example views, location, giant TV visibility and more.
Contents
What is the 17 - 27 area / grandstand at Spa?
The 17 – 27 area at Spa is a section of the venue that is only for 17 – 27 year olds. It’s aimed at younger people who are looking for a lively party atmosphere during the Belgian Grand Prix, and the area includes live music, entertainment, games and bars across the whole F1 weekend. The music here often goes on until the early hours of the morning.
This area is also known as Area 17 – 27 Blanchimont on the Spa GP website.
There’s also a grandstand only accessible to 17 – 27 year olds included in the area. The grandstand has a live DJ within it and is only 500 metres from the Young Village Spa Francorchamps camping area aimed at people of the same age group.
The grandstand itself is split in to one main section and one slightly smaller section that’s directly adjacent to it. Both parts share the same atmosphere and the DJ normally sits in between them both.
The video below from the 2022 race give you an idea of the kind of atmosphere you can expect in the stand.
@deejay.max Cette année était juste magique à La Tribune 17/27 de spa Francorchamps merci à nos amis hollandais pour le support @gaetanbartosz merci pour le support mc @djmistergreg pour l’organisation et la confiance #spafrancorchamps #deejaymax #formula1 #music #djset #djsetlive ♬ son original - Deejay Max
17 - 27 grandstand location
The 17 – 27 grandstand is located on the outside (left-hand side) of the circuit at Stavelot corner, Turn 14 on the Spa Grand Prix circuit. This corner is also known as Campus because of the ‘Technifutur Centre de Competences Campus’ building on the inside of the circuit here.
The grandstand sits parallel to the track between Turn 14 Stavelot and Turn 15 Curve Paul Frere. The map below shows its location.
The grandstand is the opposite side of the track to the famous Eau Rouge and Raidillon corners.
17 - 27 tickets
17 – 27 tickets will get you access to the 17-27 area and the grandstand. Plus they are general admission tickets, so you also get access to all of the other areas around the circuit (except other grandstands).
There are no reserved seats in the grandstand, so try a few different areas out and pick the bench seats that you like the most.
The 17 – 27 area tickets will not get you access to the Young Village, the campsite just for people of the same age group. Young Village tickets have to be purchased in addition to the 17 -27 area tickets.
Tickets can be bought through the official Spa GP website, but often sell out. If so you can check out the official reseller P1 Travel.
Grandstand details
- The grandstand is uncovered, so its completely open to the elements
- The seats are wooden bleacher style bench seats
- There are two large TV screens visible from the grandstand. For the larger section of the stand there’s a screen on the bank to the right hand side of the stand. For the smaller section there’s a screen in the bottom left corner of the stand itself.
View from the Spa 17 27 grandstand
The 17 – 27 grandstand sits pretty high up above the circuit on a large bank, so you get great panoramic views of everything from the exit of Les Fagnes, through Stavelot and the first part of Curve Paul Frere. The larger section of the stand is higher up with the best views.
At this part of the circuit the track carves its way through the forests and is surrounded by huge trees on either side, making it an incredibly picturesque place to view from.
Move around the 360 degree image below, taken from the top of the large section of the stand, to get an idea of how much you can see. You can also see the screen on the hill to the right of the grandstand.
You can see the cars exit the final part of Les Fagnes and head straight towards you as they enter Stavelot. You’ll briefly lose sight of them as they pass under the gantry that crosses over the track at this point, but then will have full view of them as they round Stavelot and enter Curve Paul Frere.
The video below shows an example of the view from this stand.
If you sit high enough in the larger stand section you might just about catch a glimpse of the cars after they’ve exited Curve Paul Frere and head towards Blanchimont, but you’ll probably be obstructed by the trees and buildings on the inside of the circuit.
The map below shows the sections of the track you can definitely see from the 17 – 27 grandstand highlighted in pink.
Is the 17 - 27 grandstand a good place to sit at Spa?
If you fall in to the right age category and are looking for a lively weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix surrounded by other people your age, then getting tickets to the 17 – 27 area is a great option. Just be ready to party hard the whole weekend!
The 17 – 27 area tickets are usually around 3 times the price of general admission tickets (Bronze tickets). But considering the 17 – 27 tickets get you access to all the General Admission zones, plus the 17 – 27 grandstand, plus all of the exclusive music, DJs, Bars and entertainment options in the 17 – 27 area then it’s not bad value at all.
The next cheapest grandstand ticket at Spa is usually the Speed Corner grandstand. In 2022 the 17 – 27 area cost 195 Euros and the Speed Corner grandstand cost 295 Euros. So again this is great value.
Stavelot and Curve Paul Frere corners don’t often see a huge amount of overtaking. They’re fast corners, however, so it’s a great way to see the car’s downforce at work. Plus if you want a change of scenery you can take a walk to any of the other nearby GA areas like Pouhon on the final chicane.
Other Spa grandstands
Check out our spectator guides to the other grandstands at Spa Francorchamps:
- Max Verstappen stand
- Speed Corner grandstand
- Combes grandstand
- Gold 1 pit grandstand
- Gold 2 GP2 grandstand
- Gold 3 grandstand
- Gold 4 grandstand
- Gold 6 grandstand
- Gold 7 grandstands
- Gold 8 grandstand
- Gold 9 grandstand
- Silver 1 grandstand
- Silver 2 grandstand
- Silver 3 grandstand
- Silver 4 grandstand
- Silver 6 grandstand
Nearest parking area
The red Blanchimont parking area is closest to the 17 – 27 area, and is pretty much directly behind the grandstand.
Tickets for the parking can be purchased directly through the Spa Grand Prix website.
