Amsterdam, 28 June 2026
Holland Festival Concludes with World-Class Performances and a New Generation of Artists
The 79th edition of the Holland Festival came to a successful close with a final weekend featuring theatre, music, opera, dance and a rave. This year's festival centred on the theme of attentive listening and observation, which ran as a common thread throughout the programme.
From the opening performance City of Floating Sounds to the closing event Rave-L, the festival, inspired by associate artist Hildur Guðnadóttir, invited audiences to engage with the world through empathy, curiosity and attentiveness. According to Festival Director Emily Ansenk, the theme resonated strongly with the need for calm, nuance and connection in a time marked by uncertainty and polarisation.
Throughout the festival, Hildur Guðnadóttir presented four new compositions, including Passing Remark, performed by more than forty brass musicians in Amsterdam's Westerpark. Her concert Where To From and the programme Nærmynd also made a lasting impression. A particularly memorable moment was her meeting with composer Meredith Monk following the screening of the documentary Monk in Pieces, which was followed by Monk's sold-out concert at the BIMHUIS.
Among the festival's highlights were Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis, performed by Vox Luminis with choreography by Saburo Teshigawara, and Bilderschlachten by Brigitta Muntendorf and Stephanie Thiersch. Audiences were equally captivated by Mirage by Damien Jalet and Kohei Nawa, with its striking choreography.
Alongside large-scale productions, the festival also presented intimate performances that connected personal stories with wider social issues. Sada (Echo) explored themes of loss and memory, while Juggle & Hide recounted Thailand's recent history through everyday objects. QAQNAS, based on a Kurdish poem about independent women, gave a powerful musical voice to both personal and political narratives.
Looking ahead to its 80th anniversary in 2027, the Holland Festival launched a new international partnership with Festival d'Avignon and Edinburgh International Festival. The first co-production, A Trial – after An Enemy of the People by Christiane Jatahy and Wagner Moura, examined the influence of media, power and disinformation, actively involving audiences in the unfolding of the performance.
This year, the Holland Festival also continued to invest in the future of the performing arts through an extensive international professionals programme and a wide-ranging education programme for secondary school pupils and university students. In addition, emerging artists from DEGASTEN created JÖRĐ, inspired by Guðnadóttir's work and the festival's central themes.
With an average attendance of over 80 per cent and many sold-out performances, the Holland Festival looks back on a highly successful edition. Between 3 and 28 June, a total of 104 performances took place across 23 venues in Amsterdam and Heerlen, including 14 co-productions, two in-house productions and four world premieres. In addition, 27 artists made their Holland Festival debut.
The 80th Holland Festival will take place from 3 to 27 June 2027.