Music City The Hague

The Hague isn’t known only as the seat of government and home to the Royal Family, but also as the number one pop music city of the Netherlands.

The city has loads of festivals and well-known musicians and is a breeding ground for new talent. Bands from The Hague already started conquering the world in the 1960s with groups like Golden Earring with ‘Radar Love’ and Shocking Blue with ‘Venus’. Today Anouk, Di-rect and Kane enjoy an international reputation. And The Hague continues to produce successful bands like The Deaf .

With more than 1,000 actively playing bands and numerous performance venues, The Hague enjoys a lively music scene. An international population bestows the city with a colourful climate for pop music. The Hague is best known for its rock scene, but its electronic music scene is also famous worldwide.

Festivals and venues

The city can also thank its reputation for being the number one pop music city in the Netherlands to its bevy of famous festivals. Parkpop is Europe’s largest free outdoor pop music festival. Crossing Border is known worldwide as the festival which uniquely combines the spoken word with music. Walk The Line presents up-and-coming bands from the international alternative music scene on the brink of being discovered. The Hague’s city centre buzzes with activity the day before the national Queen’s Day celebrations when pop music lovers descend upon the city for the Life I Live Festival. State-X New Forms is The Hague’s underground music festival.

Paard van Troje is the city’s most celebrated club for live music. Together with the bars and cafes on the Grote Markt it forms the epicentre for the city’s pop music scene, the PopHotSpot. The PopHotSpot plays a central role during the Hague Pop Week where the Pop Prizes are also awarded.

The Hague Pop Centre supports new bands with top-quality practice, recording and performance facilities. The Hague Music Export provides financial support to local bands which want to perform at festivals and venues abroad.

More information at www.musiccitythehague.com.