Netherlands — Events
ParkPop
June 26, 2011 - February 10, 2012
On the last Sunday in June, the biggest annual free outdoor pop music event in Europe takes place in the Zuiderpark and features bands and artists from the Netherlands and all over the the continent, performing on three stages.
Scheveningen International Fireworks Festival
August 1, 2011 - February 10, 2012
Each August, over three nights, participants from around the world gather at the beach to compete in a competition to decide who has produced the most spectacular displays. Although sometimes affected by weather conditions, the event attracts huge numbers of spectators.
Sea and Learn
October 1, 2011 - October 31, 2011
A month long festival dedicated to educating participants about environmental awareness around Saba. There are presentations from academics, scientists and naturalists, and volunteers can take part in various workshops and surveys running throughout the event.
Elfstedentocht (Eleven Cities Tour)
January 1, 2012 - January 31, 2012
Ice skating race, in which skaters cover a nearly 200 km course of naturally frozen waterways around the province of Friesland in a single day. Starting in the capital of Leeuwarden, the competition proceeds clockwise through the chief eleven towns of the province, hence the name. Note: the Elfstedentocht only goes on when the ice is at least 15 cm thick.
New Year's Dive
January 1, 2012 - February 10, 2012
Each New Year’s Day around 10,000 hardy souls brave the icy North Sea waters in support of a designated charity. The event has taken place every year since 1969, and even if you’re not participating, it is quite a spectacle.
International Film Festival Rotterdam
January 25, 2012 - February 5, 2012
One of Europe’s top film festivals, the IFFR is known for attracting independent, edgy, controversial films, with an emphasis on films from Asia and developing nations. In general, it is a less exclusive affair than its counterparts in Cannes and Venice, and attendees have ample opportunities to meet the filmmakers.
Keukenhof Spring Gardens
March 24, 2012 - May 20, 2012
About 700,000 people visit Keukenhof Gardens each spring to admire the tulips and other bulb flowers in full bloom. This incredible display of color is in a beautiful setting, covering an area of 32 hectares (80 acres). There are individual flower shows in three pavilions. Carolus Clusius, the biologist of Leiden’s Hortus Botanicus, is generally credited with introducing the tulip into Holland in 1593 and thus unleashing ‘tulip mania’ on Europe. Azalea, Hortensia, Syringa, Viburnum, Prunus, Forsythia, Lilies, Orchids, Anthurium, Bromelia Begonia and Cyclamen are also on display.
Bulb District Flower Parade
April 1, 2012 - April 30, 2012
The ‘Bloemencorso van de Bollenstreek’ is a parade of flower-decorated floats that makes a slow 40km (25-mile) passage from Noordwijk to Haarlem, where the cavalcade forms an illuminated display overnight. A different theme is adopted each year for this popular festival, which usually attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators who line the length of its route. About 20 large floats are piled high with carefully arranged blooms in a profusion of scent and color, and more the 30 decorated luxury cars follow, interspersed with marching bands.
Scheveningen International Sand Sculpture Festival
April 15, 2012 - June 15, 2012
Between late April-early June, sculptors from all over the world descend on Scheveningen to create inspired, weird and wonderfully spectacular artworks along the beach. Interestingly, as the sand at Scheveningen itself is not suitable for the purpose – sand has to be specially ‘imported’ from elsewhere in the Netherlands.
Holland Festival
May 31, 2012 - June 29, 2012
The principal festival of the performing arts in the Netherlands features classical music, opera, theater, dance, pop, world music and cinema, plus art and literature events. Both internationally recognized artists and buzz-worthy newcomers perform in some 40 productions around town.
