Application City of rotterdam ROTTERDAMWORLDPORTWORLDCITYROTTERDAMWORLDPORTWORLDEVENTS Application City of rotterdam ROTTERDAM WORLD EVENTS | Festival and event city award program 3 The city supports the enthusiasm of all these parties via Rotterdam Festivals and Rotterdam Topsport in a way that ensures the festival organizers enjoy working in this city, and that contributes to an attractive city where people enjoy living, working and visiting. The success of our events and the consistent and continuous support for festivals by means of a support model that is a source of inspiration for many other cities make us an important candidate for the IFEA Festival and Event City Award. The world changes, audiences change and it is useful to occasionally look closely at the direction. We recently did this again and documented our conclusions in a new vision that gives a boost to the development from a national to an international festival city, which was started a number of years ago. In the development of this vision we have gratefully used the input from the international and fraternal network that is IFEA. In that sense you, too, have contributed to the success of ‘Rotterdam, event city’. On behalf of the city government of Rotterdam, Mr. A. Aboutaleb Mayor of the city of Rotterdam and Hans den Oudendammer Grand Départ Tour de France Managing Director Rotterdam Topsport Ton Wesselink Managing Director Rotterdam Marketing Johan Moerman Managing Director Rotterdam Festivals Veerhavenconcert Rotterdam is known as THE event city in the Netherlands. Every year small and large events attract hundreds of thousands of local residents and visitors from inside the Netherlands and abroad. ROTTERDAM WORLD EVENTS | Festival and event city award program ROTTERDAM WORLD EVENTS | Festival and event city award program Rotterdam has a rich festival tradition that is part of the DNA of the city and its citizens. The festivals are rooted in the city and connected with the character, history and culture of the city. With the festivals we celebrate our identity. Our event policy has been consistently implemented for many years. In 2006 the panel of judges that pronounced Rotterdam the best event city – and has done so more often than any other city in the country – wrote: “For more than 10 years the Rotterdam organization that supports and helps to develop events, Rotterdam Festivals, has been an example for other cities wanting to realize an effective event policy. Still, by using innovation and inven- tiveness, Rotterdam continuously manages to come up with new and much talked-about concepts … The Rotterdam events excel because of the function they perform for the city; from multicultural to fine art and everything in between, in an appropriate setting.” The success of the Rotterdam policy in the past decades was made possible because the city is home to many creative, experienced and professional festival organizers that all share a passion for this city. We are proud that they choose our city to work and live in. We’re also happy to have suppliers in every possible field, committed sponsors, enthusiastic support at all levels at the city departments and the invaluable efforts of the city’s police men and women. 4 5 Section I Community overview 8 Section II Festival and events: celebrating our identity 12 Section III Governmental support of festivals and events 14 Section IV Non-governmental community support of festivals and events 20 Section V ‘Community Capital’ generated by festivals & events 22 Section VI Extra credit 26 Celebrating Identity: 60 years festivals in Rotterdam 1950-2010 28 Appendix I Characteristics outdoor event locations Rotterdam 32 Appendix II (insert) Festival Overview Appendix III Notification letter 36 Davis Cup (Müllerpier 1994) Rotterdam 2007 City of Architecture ROTTERDAM WORLD EVENTS | Festival and event city award program 6 7 ‘ Rotterdam, Europe’s biggest port, is now one of the world’s most vibrant, exciting and fun cities too’ Financial Times (UK) Main Outdoor areas Coolsingel The Coolsingel is one of the main avenues and the symbolic heart of the city. The Rotterdam City Hall and De Doelen former post office make up the main characteristics De Doelen is a multifunctional concert hall, with a capa- of the venue. The Rotterdam Marathon and Summer city ranging from 50 to 2,100 visitors; 3,500 if the whole Carnival finish and/or start at the Coolsingel, which has a complex is in use. The Doelen takes second place in the capacity of more than 100,000. Netherlands for classical music in terms of public out- reach, surpassed only by the Concertgebouw in Amster- Boompjes dam. As a conference venue, the Doelen receives visitors The Boompjes (The Trees in English) is a large boulevard International Film Festival Rotterdam to thousands of conferences and other business events. with an international feel on the Rotterdam waterfront. The Boompjes area (Boompjes, Boompjeskade and Cruise Terminal & LP 2 Leuvehoofd) has a combined capacity of 50,000. The former passenger terminal for the Holland-America The area hosts the Summer Carnival and the National cruise line is now part of Rotterdam’s cultural heritage New Year’s Eve Party, and was part of the route of the and a great festival venue with a capacity of 2,500. prologue for the Tour de France. Combinations are possible with LP 2, another venue location across the street, with a capacity of 1,750 people. Park at the Euromast The Park at the Euromast is a historic park designed as Luxor an English garden by famous Dutch 18th century land- The Luxor Theatre is the main theatre of Rotterdam. It scape architect Zocher. The Park is host to several events consists of two locations, the Old Luxor in downtown such as the multicultural Dunya Festival and the Day of Rotterdam, which has a capacity of 900 seats. And the Romantic Music, with a capacity in excess of 50,000. New Luxor on the Wilhelminapier at Rotterdam’s water- General Information front, which has a capacity of 1500 seats. Together both Zuiderpark locations host all the major Dutch theatre productions. The Zuiderpark is located near the Ahoy Arena and has The City of Rotterdam is the second largest city in the recently been rebuilt as a green festival park. Netherlands and is home to Europe’s the largest port. Schouwburg The Zuiderpark has a capacity of 25,000 and is home to ROTTERDAM WORLD EVENTS | Festival and event city award program Main Indoor Venues ROTTERDAM WORLD EVENTS | Festival and event city award program Worldwide the Port of Rotterdam is only surpassed by The Schouwburg is the second theatre of the city and, Rock and Pop festivals like the Metropolis Festival. the port of Shanghai, of which Rotterdam is a sister Feyenoord Stadium with a capacity of 1,000, is home to many different festi- city. Rotterdam’s current population is 600,000 (urban National soccer stadium and home to the club Feyenoord vals, such as: International Choice (theater, September), Schouwburgplein area). Rotterdam is situated in the large conurbation of Rotterdam. Feyenoord Stadium has been the venue for International Film Festival Rotterdam (movies, January), The Schouwburgplein is a square in the midst of de Rotterdam Rijnmond, which has 1.2 million inhabitants. many legendary concerts, ranging from U2, the Rolling Motel Mozaïque (music festival, April), Rotterdam Opera Doelen, Old Luxor Theatre, Off Corso and the Schouw- In a 50-mile radius of Rotterdam we find the Randstad Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Michael Jackson Days (opera, May) and Poetry International Festival burg, designed by West 8. The square is the cultural Holland Area. The Randstad Area consists of several and Pink Floyd. The stadium has a capacity of 51,577 for (poetry, June). square of Rotterdam and host to several events such as cities including Rotterdam, Amsterdam, the Hague and soccer matches and 65,000 for concerts. the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Motel Utrecht and has 7 million inhabitants. World Trade Center Mozaïque, the Rotterdam Opera Days, Poetry International Ahoy The World Trade Center is the high-profile conference and Conny Janssen Danst. The square can hold 25,000 Venues Multifunctional home of North Sea Jazz and many other center in downtown Rotterdam. It houses several offices people. great events. This venue can be divided into several big and is one of the main venues for business events and We have selected the most important indoor and halls with a capacity from 3,000 – 13,500 on the Arena conferences. It has a combined capacity of 5,000. Hospital and Emergency Response outdoor venues and ranked them by capacity. A general floor. If the whole complex is in use, as is the case during overview of all outdoor venues is available in appendix I; North Sea Jazz, the capacity is 30,000. The Ahoy was the More detailed information can be found in the Rotterdam It is the responsibility of the Rotterdam Safety Region this attachment also lists the availability of water and main starting and finishing area of the Grand Depart of Manual 2010. Enclosed as Appendix IV and online: (Fire Brigades, Ambulance Services, and the Emergency power in outdoor venues. the Tour de France in 2010. www.rotterdam.info Medical Preparedness Office) to advise the city of 8 9 Hotel Rooms Parking Availability Rotterdam in the preparation phase for events by con- ducting a risk analysis of an event (i.e. whether a permit Rotterdam has a comprehensive selection of hotels, with Rotterdam has 15,000 paid parking spaces, 50,000 free should be issued from a safety perspective and on what a total of 3,441 rooms available. These rooms are spread parking spaces and 40 paid parking garages. conditions a permit should be issued), and to provide the over two 5-star hotels, sixteen 4-star hotels, eight 3-star There are 6 large park-and-ride sites alongside the best possible emergency response on-site during events.