Dutch festivals

Floriade

The first Floriade was held in Rotterdam in 1960, and is only held every ten years, moving on to a new venue with long term planning starting almost as soon as the old one finsihes. The expo takes over an area of the country for seven months between April and October and such sites have become part of the national heritage - the popular Amstel Park in Amsterdam is the legacy of Floriade 1972. The 2012 site will become Venlo GreenPark, a sustainable business park and exhibition venue.

But Chelsea Flower Shower it isn't. 2012's Floriade focused on green living, sustainability and on promoting new ideas and technology in the horticultural world. It had five different themed areas of the park: Relax & Heal, Green Engine, Education & Innovation, Environment, and the World Show Stage. The Education & Innovation area was equipped with a laboratory for creating food, a jungle greenhouse and a beautiful pavilion built around a beehive, where the bees had been fitted with tiny electronic chips tracking their movements. Educational AND enjoyable.

Floriade also offers a packed cultural programme of music, dance, theatre and graphic art on offer daily. Book early - it's a must-see and has over 2,000,000 visitors. Put it on your bucket list, your 10 year plan or your To Do List...

OEROL

Once a year, OEROL festival takes over the island of Terschelling and presents theatre in its widest meaning, outdoors in its woods and fields, on its sand dunes and golden beaches, indoors in its barns and cafés. 'Oerol' means 'everywhere' or 'all-over'. The theme changes annually and in 2012 the theme was The Wind Carries the Words. Participants bring their tent and sleeping bag, and have a completely different Holland experience. Check out the OEROL website for more details.

Amsterdam Dance Event

The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is the world's leading electronic music conference. A week of making music, talking about music, performing music and doing deals, it is BIG, night and day. 3,000 business professionals, 140,000 festival visitors from over 62 countries enjoy the day and night activities over five days in October every year. For more information, check out the Amsterdam Dance Event website.

TodaysArt

TodaysArt is a festival concept that revolves around the presentation and development of adventurous contemporary visual and performing arts. Since 2005, TodaysArt Festival has brought international artists, thinkers and audiences to The Hague. All about TodaysArt.