Parkpop relents; will break for football

For the first time in 34 years, the Parkpop organization has decided to temporarily put the festival on hold during the Word Cup game between The Netherlands and Mexico this Sunday. The organizers of the free music festival located at the Zuiderpark in Den Haag, first announced that the festival will carry on as planned but to prevent visitors from leaving just before the game they have decided to show the match on big screens beginning with the 6 p.m. kickoff. This is made possible by shortening the breaks in between performances, this way all the artists will still perform and everyone will be able to enjoy the football game as well. “The Netherlands made it through the group stages and the public believes that Oranje could become the next World Cup champion. In this kind of situation we just have to show the game during the festival,” said Parkpop spokesperson Rodney Lont on Thursday. Performers scheduled to take the Parkpop stage include 10cc, Epica, Kensington, Gers Pardoel and Hallo Venray. There will be live reporting from the festival grounds by broadcasters Oproep West from 2 p.m. onwards, and from TV West from 3 p.m. onwards.