Below you’ll find the biggest annual festivals and parades that happen in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and elsewhere in the Netherlands.
NOTE: The next date each festival will be held is included in the listing below…
| FESTIVAL | CITY | NEXT EDITION | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUROSONIC NOORDERSLAG | Groningen | Jan 2025 | This Groningen music festival in northern Netherlands showcases emerging Dutch and European talents. |
| INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM | Rotterdam | Jan-Feb 2025 | This Rotterdam festival is one of the largest film festivals in the world and takes place over 12 days at several venues. The IFFR includes feature films, documentaries, shorts and media art. |
| UTRECHT INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL | Utrecht | Feb 2025 | This Utrecht comedy festival has grown significantly since its founding in 2012 and is now quite international. The TivoliVredenburg theater in the city center is the main event venue. |
| KEUKENHOF | Lisse | 21 Mar-12 May 2024 | The Keukenhof tulip park in South Holland is only open for 2 months annually (mid-March to mid-May) but receives over 1 million visitors. Besides the beautiful outdoor gardens, there are flower exhibitions in two indoor pavilions. |
| MOVIES THAT MATTER | The Hague | Mar 2025 | The Hague film festival focuses on human rights films showcasing issues like race, religion, sexual orientation, culture and ethnicity. |
| PAASPOP | Schijndel | Mar 2025 | A 3-day Dutch music festival over the long Easter weekend. The festival site (near Den Bosch) includes multiple stages, fun fair and camping area. 2024 performers include Anouk, Chef's Special, Suzan & Freek and Tiesto. |
| BOLLENSTREEK FLOWER PARADE | Bulb Region | 20 Apr 2024 | A parade of colorful flower-decorated floats through the Bulb & Dune region. The 40-km route begins in Noordwijk and ends in Haarlem, where the floats are on display the following day (Sunday) throughout the city center. |
| THE LIFE I LIVE | The Hague | 26 Apr 2024 | King's Night music festival with multiple stages located throughout The Hague city center, each featuring a different genre of music. |
| KING'S DAY | Netherlands | 27 Apr 2024 | King Willem-Alexander's birthday is 27 April and festivals across the country celebrate the occasion. The Royal family visits a different city each year which is broadcast nationally. The 2024 city is Emmen. |
| KRALINGSE BOS FESTIVAL | Rotterdam | 27 Apr 2024 | The Kralingse Bos music festival is held every year on King's Day by the lake in Rotterdam's Kralingse forest. |
| SPRING FUN FAIRS | Delft Haarlem The Hague Hilversum Rotterdam | 24-28 Apr 2024 12-28 Apr 2024 05-27 Apr 2024 17-29 Apr 2024 19 Apr-05 May | Many Dutch cities organize spring fun fairs ('kermis') that can last from a few days to a few weeks. They usually overlap King's Day (and sometimes Easter if it falls late that year). |
| LIBERATION DAY | Amsterdam Haarlem The Hague Rotterdam | 05 May 2024 | 14 official festivals celebrate the day in May 1945 when the Netherlands was liberated from German occupation. One festival in each of 12 provinces plus one in Amsterdam and The Hague. |
| NATIONAL WINDMILL DAY | All Cities | 11-12 May 2024 | Windmills across the Netherlands open their doors to visitors on 'Nationale Molensdag' (National Windmill Day). |
| O. FESTIVAL | Rotterdam | 16-26 May 2024 | The O. Festival (formerly named 'Operadagen') showcases the opera music genre and features live performances often in unusual locations around the Rotterdam city center. |
| NORTH SEA REGATTA | The Hague | 07/10/18-20 May 2024 | Sailing races in and around Scheveningen harbour and on the North Sea. |
| DAY OF THE CASTLE | Netherlands | 20 May 2024 | The 'Dag van het Kasteel' takes place each year on Whit Monday and is a celebration of the historic castles and country homes in Netherlands. Each year has a different theme. Historic buildings and gardens open to public. |
| TONG TONG FAIR | The Hague | 24 May-02 June 2024 | This is the world's largest Eurasian culture and culinary fair. It takes place in tents on the Malieveld. Food, music and dance performances. |
| DAKENDAGEN | Rotterdam | 24-26 May 2024 | During the 'Rooftop Days' festival you can visit the rooves of select Rotterdam buildings to see new green energy technology in use, great views of the city skyline and even popup restaurants and live entertainment. |
| INTENTS FESTIVAL | Oisterwijk | 31 May-02 June 2024 | This large Netherlands dance festival celebrates its 20th edition in 2024. It takes place in Tilburg (North Brabant). |
| AMSTERDAM OPEN AIR FESTIVAL | Amsterdam | 01-02 June 2024 | Amsterdam Open Air is a 2-day electronic music and visual arts festival takes place in Gaasperpark (near the Planetarium) in the Zuid-Oost district. |
| HOLLAND FESTIVAL | Amsterdam | 06-29 June 2024 | The largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. It runs 3 weeks with musical, dance and circus performances at locations throughout Amsterdam. |
| HOLLAND BLUES FESTIVAL | Grolloo | 13-15 June 2024 | HBF is a newer Netherlands music festival in the north of the country dedicated to the blues genre. Grolloo is a village near Assen. |
| FESTIVAL CLASSIQUE | The Hague | 13-16 June 2024 | The Hague classical music festival for all ages with short performances (<60 mins.) by the beach in Scheveningen. |
| PINKPOP | Landgraff | 21-23 June 2024 | PinkPop is one of the oldest and most successful music festivals in the world. The event originally took place on Pinksteren (Pentecost) weekend. 2024 acts include Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Nothing But Thieves, Avril Lavigne and Hozier. |
| ROZE ZATERDAG | Groningen | 22 June 2024 | Roze Zaterdag (Pink Saturday) is the oldest pride event in the Netherlands, dating back to the late 1970's. This LGBTQIA+ festival takes place at the end of June (Pride Month) and each year is held in a different Dutch city. In 2024 it will be hosted in Groningen. |
| VLAGGETJESDAG (FLAG DAY) SCHEVENINGEN | The Hague | 22 June 2024 | Vlaggetjesdag celebrates the season's first catch of herring (Hollandse Nieuwe). The Scheveningen event is the biggest with lots of fish, boat excursions, marching bands and maritime demonstrations. 2022 was the 75th edition. |
| DE PARADE | Eindhoven Rotterdam The Hague Utrecht Amsterdam | 21-29 June 2024 21-30 June 2024 05-21 July 2024 26 July-11 Aug 16 Aug-01 Sept | De Parade is a travelling outdoor theater festival that visits the Netherlands largest cities each summer, staying approximately 3 weeks at each locations. Live musical, dance and circus performances take place in big top tents while food and drinks are available on multiple outdoor terraces. |
| VARENDCORSO WESTLAND | Rijnland Westland Delfland | 21-23 June 2024 | The VarendCorso Westland (Floating Parade) takes place over 3 days with boats ornately decorated with flowers and vegetables grown in the Westland region. Each day a different route is followed: Friday - Rijnland, Saturday - Westland, Sunday - Delftland. |
| CONCERT AT SEA | Brouwersdam | 27-29 June 2024 | This 3-day music festival takes place on the Brouwersdam (between South Holland and Zeeland). It features Dutch and international artists. Past performers have included Alannis Morrisette, Lenny Kravitz, Passenger and Sting. |
| LAKEN FEESTEN | Leiden | 28-30 June 2024 | This annual 3-day festival celebrates Leiden's industrial history as a major cloth-producing center. Activities include dragon boat races, fancy boat parade, fun fair and live music performances on outdoor stages around the city. |
| METROPOLIS FESTIVAL | Rotterdam | 07 July 2024 | Metropolis is a 1-day outdoor Rotterdam music festival in Zuiderpark. Admission is free. Up-and-coming artists from pop-rock, metal, indie, hip hop and electronic genres perform on multiple stages. It attracts over 30,000 visitors. |
| WESTERPOP | Delft | July 2025 | This pop/rock music festival in Delft takes place every other 'odd' year at Stanislas College field. 2023 was the 30th edition. |
| NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL | Rotterdam | 12-14 July 2024 | The world's largest indoor music festival takes over 3 days in July in Rotterdam. Over 150 performances on 15 stages. 2024 acts include Sting, Joss Stone, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jaime Cullum and RAYE. |
| BOSPOP | Weert | 12-14 July 2024 | Pop/Rock music festival over 3 days with Dutch and international acts. 2024 acts include Heart, Alice Cooper, James Blunt, John Fogerty and Toto. |
| WERFPOP | Leiden | July 2025 | A 1-day Leiden music festival founded in 1982. It takes place in the Leidse Hout and attracts over 22,000 visitors, making it the biggest music festival in the region. It will not be held in 2024. |
| TILBURG FAIR | Tilburg | 19-28 July 2024 | The Tilburg Kermis (Fair) runs for 10 days and is one of the biggest annual summer events in the south of the Netherlands. |
| ROSE MAANDAG | Tilburg | 22 July 2024 | The 'Pink Monday' festival takes place at the Tilburg Fair and celebrates LGBT diversity. |
| ROTTERDAM UNLIMITED | Rotterdam | 24-27 July 2024 | RotterdamUnlimited celebrates the city's wide cultural diversity. Two of the biggest events within the festival are the 'Battle of the Drums' and the Caribbean-flavored 'Summer Carnaval' street parade. |
| DELFT CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL | Delft | 26 July-02 Aug 2024 | This 10-day classical music festival takes place at various locations in and around the Delft city center with the Prinsenhof Museum as the main venue. |
| MILKSHAKE FESTIVAL | Amsterdam | 27-28 July 2024 | This colorful Amsterdam dance and electronic music festival is all about love and acceptance. It draws thousands and takes place in the Westerpark with rides to boot. |
| AMSTERDAM PRIDE | Amsterdam | 27 July-04 Aug 2024 | Amsterdam Pride, celebrating the LGBTQ community, is one of the largest festivals in the Netherlands and one of the largest gay events in the world. Amsterdam Pride takes place over 7 days with the premiere event being the canal boat parade which takes place on the second to last day (Saturday). |
| NORTH SEA SUMMER FESTIVAL | Katwijk | 01-10 Aug 2024 | This week-long beach festival in the coastal town of Katwijk aan Zee (near Leiden) includes music, water sport competitions, demonstrations and workshops for all ages. |
| SNEEKWEEK FESTIVAL | Sneek | 02-08 Aug 2024 | Sneekweek is the largest inland waterway sailing regatta in Europe and takes place on the Sneekermeer lake in Friesland (northern part of the Netherlands). The accompanying festival includes live music performances, a fun fair and fun watersport activities. |
| GRACHTEN FESTIVAL | Amsterdam | 09-18 Aug 2024 | The Grachtenfestival (Canals Festival) celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022 and offers 200+ concerts in Amsterdam over 10 days. |
| BLIJDORP FESTIVAL | Rotterdam | 10 Aug 2024 | The Blijdorp Festival is a 1-day festival combining 'art, music and happiness'. It takes place in the Roel Langerakpark located in Rotterdam's Noord district. |
| SAIL AMSTERDAM | Amsterdam | 20-24 Aug 2025 | The Sail festival is a celebration of tall ships from the past and takes place over 5 days once every 5 years (the next edition is in 2025). Over 600 historic antique tall ships moor in Amsterdam's Ij harbor. The Sail festival is Europe's largest public maritime event. |
| NOORDERZON FESTIVAL | Groningen | 22 Aug-01 Sept 2024 | A summer performing arts festival combining theater, dance, music and literature with social commentary and interaction. It attracts around 135,000 visitors and takes place in Groningen's Noorderplantsoen city park. |
| REDHEAD DAYS | Tilburg | 23-25 Aug 2024 | This festival celebrates the uniqueness of redheads and is for those who have red hair, their families, friends and all others who appreciate redheads. |
| JAZZ IN THE CANAL | The Hague | 29-31 Aug 2024 | Live jazz music performances on boats passing along The Hague's city center canal ring. |
| ZUNDERT FLOWER PARADE | Zundert | 01-02 Sept 2024 | The biggest flower parade in the world with over 8 million dahlias used to decorate the floats. The parade route is 5km and there are events in the days leading up such as visiting tents where the floats are being constructed. |
| EMBASSY FESTIVAL | The Hague | 06-07 Sept 2024 | The 2-day festival includes a first day of embassy tours and second day of food, music, dance and culture with embassy tents set up on the Lange Voorhout in The Hague. |
| SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL | The Hague | 06-07 Sept 2024 | The new Spotlight Festival replaces the Uit Festival, but remains focused on the upcoming year's (Fall '24-Spring '25) cultural offering by music, dance and theater organizations in The Hague. |
| WORLD PORT DAYS | Rotterdam | 06-08 Sept 2024 | World Port Days celebrates the key role the Port of Rotterdam has played in the city's history, development and on-going culture. Activities take place in and around the harbour including maritime demonstrations, ship tours, port excursions and the Saturday night fireworks presentation. |
| HERITAGE DAYS | All Cities | 07-08 Sept 2024 | Held on the second weekend of September, Heritage Days (also called Open Monumentendag in the Netherlands) is a celebration of Dutch heritage. Buildings and monuments across the country not usually accessible to the public, open their doors to visitors. |
| MOOI WEER SPELEN | Delft | 15 Sept 2024 | A circus arts and street performer festival that takes place in Delft's Poptapark. |
| PRINSJESDAG PARADE | The Hague | 17 Sept 2024 | On Prinsjesdag, the King gives a 'speech from the throne' to Parliament asking them to work together to achieve its major goals during the new session. A grand parade takes place to lead the King from Noordeinde Palace to the Binnenhof and back. No parade in 2021 due to Covid. |
| KITE FESTIVAL SCHEVENINGEN | The Hague | 21 Sept 2024 | The colorful International Kite Festival takes place on the beach in Scheveningen and features some of the largest kites in Europe. Kite-building and power-kiting workshops are also offered. |
| NEDERLANDS FILM FESTIVAL | Utrecht | 20-27 Sept 2024 | The week-long Nederlands Film Festival celebrates Dutch film, television and interactive production. A special program for English-speakers has been developed. The festival presents awards for best movie, director and student film and the nominated works are screened. |
| 3OCTOBER | Leiden | 02-03 Oct 2024 | This 3-day festival celebrates the day (3rd October) in 1574 when the city of Leiden was liberated from oppression by the Spanish army. During that seige, thousands of Leideners died from starvation. The festival includes food, music, fun fairs, parade and remembrance service. |
| LEIDEN INTL FILM FESTIVAL | Leiden | 10-20 Oct 2024 | The 10-day LIFF film festival includes both mainstream and art house movies, feature length and short films. It has become one the Netherlands biggest film festivals in recent years. |
| AMSTERDAM DANCE EVENT | Amsterdam | 16-20 Oct 2024 | The 4-day ADE electronic music festival in Amsterdam includes over 1000 events taking place at 200 different venues. |
| DE BETOVERING FESTIVAL | The Hague | 25 Oct-02 Nov 2024 | De Betovering ('The Enchantment') festival in The Hague is a children's arts festival which takes place during Herfsvakantie (the Autumn school break). Over 500 performances and workshops across multiple venues. |
| GLOW EINDHOVEN | Eindhoven | 09-16 Nov 2024 | Started in 2006, this annual week-long light festival in Eindhoven features illuminated artworks and installations by international and local artists. |
| INTOCHT SINTERKLAAS | All Cities | 16 Nov 2024 | The arrival of Sinterklaas is a major event each November, with every city celebrating with their own arrival festival. Most are on the third Saturday in November with the remainder on the third Sunday or fourth Saturday. Sinterklaas arrives by boat and then travels to the city/town center on horseback in a fun parade. |
| AMSTERDAM LIGHT FESTIVAL | Amsterdam | 28 Nov 2024- 19 Jan 2025 | The Amsterdam Light Festival features illuminated artworks on and over the city's historic canals. |
| NIGHT OF LIGHTS | Delft | 10 Dec 2024 | The Night of Lights festival takes place on Markt square in the Delft city center and features musical performances, market and lighting of the Delft Christmas tree. |
| GOUDA BY CANDLELIGHT | Gouda | 13 Dec 2024 | The 'Gouda by Candlelight' event culminates with the lighting of the city Christmas tree on a dark Markt square, lit only by hundreds of candles in the windows of the Gothic town hall and surrounding shops. A festive celebration. |
| NYE NATIONAL FIREWORKS | Rotterdam | 31 Dec 2024 | This New Year's Eve festival takes place around the Rotterdam harbour and finishes with a breathtaking fireworks show over the Maas river which is broadcast throughout the Netherlands. |
More Netherlands Events…