Top 2000 kicks off on Radio 2 this year with Bohemian Rhapsody again as number 1

DJ Jeroen van Inkel kicked off the top 2,000 on Saturday at midnight. The "list of lists" began with number 2,000 on the list: Promise of No Man's Land by the Dutch artist Blaudzun. It was the first time the song made it into the list. Up to and including New Year's Eve, the songs were played 24 hours in a row on NPO Radio 2.

Bart Arens' opening show was played prior to the first record. The DJ provided a "mash-up" of big hits from the list every year.

Several well-known songs fell considerably compared to last year: Kissing A Foll by George Michael was down 146 spots, I Want To Hold Your Hand by The Beatles fell 318 spots and Anarchy in the UK by Sex Pistols 202 places.

Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody will be the last to be played and usher in 2022. The song was in second place last year but now leads the Top 2,000 list for the 18th time. The song Roller Coaster by Danny Vera was last year's number 1 and now joins the list as number two. The favorite song of murdered crime journalist Peter R. de Vries, A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum, rose from 153 to 3.

Furthermore, the top ten successively consisted of Hotel California by Eagles, Piano Man by Billy Joel, Radar Love by Golden Earring, Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, Nothing Else Matters by Metallica, Black by Pearl Jam and evening by Boudewijn de Groot. The song Radar Love is new in the top 10 and the first song by Golden Earring, who announced they would stop this year due to George Kooyman's illness.

The band, Queen, is featured in the Top 2,000 35 times, followed by The Beatles with 31 songs and ABBA, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and The Rolling Stones with 23 pieces. Like last year, the Top 2,000 Café in Hilversum will not be open to the public due to Covid-19 measures but will instead be televised.