Over 1,000 festivals in Netherlands this year

A total of 1,115 festivals are being organized in the Netherlands this year, compared to 836 last year, according to a study by marketing agency EM-Cultuur. These festivals are expected to attract a total of 19.5 million visitors, RTL Nieuws reports.

The peak of the festival season runs from May to September. In that period there are more than 100 festivals per month. This involves all types of festivals. More than half revolve around music. Theater and art festivals are also popular, according to EM-Cultuur.

More and more people are discovering festivals, Willem Westermann of Kenniscentrum Evenementen said to the broadcaster. "A festival is a very good way to do something fun with a group of friends. There is something for everyone, a kind of a land of plenty full of fun things", he said. "In contrast to a concert, where you come more for the show, you can just hang around a bit at a festival and discover new things."

More and more organizers are taking advantage of the increasing popularity of festivals, and changing their events into festivals. Festivals are also spreading more throughout the country, with Noord-Brabant and Gelderland in particular seeing an increase in the number of festivals.

Festival season is also becoming longer. "In the past, the season really ran from May to the beginning of September. Now you already have several festivals at Easter. Even in winter, more is being organized", Westermann said to RTL.