Number of festivals in the Netherlands 2012-2023

The number of festivals in the Netherlands bounced back in 2022, following a dramatic drop with the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While the number of events fell to just 155 in the first year of the health crisis, roughly 1,200 festivals took place in the country in 2022. This figure was forecast to decrease to 1,150 in 2023.

Total number of festival visitors

As the number of festivals decreased dramatically, so did the number of festival visits in the Netherlands in 2020. In 2019, the attendance at festivals in the Netherlands reached over 27 million. In 2020, it dropped to just 1.4 million.

Leading free and free-based festivals

The Vierdaagsefeesten Nijmegen topped the list of the most visited free festival in the Netherlands in 2019. This event, which is annually held in Nijmegen for the International Four Day Marches, welcomed over 1.6 million people. In terms of the most popular fee-based music festivals in the Netherlands, the Amsterdam Dance Festival (ADE) ranked first, attracting roughly 400 thousand visitors in 2019.