More people went to concerts and festivals in 2022 than in 2019

In 2022, considerably more festivals and concerts took place than in 2019, the last year before the pandemic. As a result, festivals and concerts attracted a total of 32.5 million visitors in 2022. That's 2.4 million more visits than in 2019, the Association of Event Merchants (VVEM) announced on Friday. Attendance has never been so high for major concerts in the country, the VVEM said.

According to the VVEM, the numbers for festivals and concerts are striking. It is the only type of event that achieved a positive result in 2022, according to the industry association. All other event types, such as sporting events, trade shows, and markets, were in the red last year compared to 2019. And the overall event market lagged 5 percent in the past year as opposed to 2019.

The postponement of concerts and the first editions of new festivals had a significant impact on the positive numbers in 2022, with about 100 concerts taking place last year that were previously scheduled for 2020 or 2021. Some of them were postponed first to 2021 and then to 2022 because of the coronavirus. Overall, of the 85 new festivals in 2022, about 75 percent should have already taken place in 2020 or 2021.

As a result, more than 3,000 major concerts took place in 2022. Due in part to this high number, attendance increased by 50 percent compared to 2019.

According to VVEM, never before have so many people attended major concerts in the Netherlands. The acts that drew the biggest crowds included De Toppers, André Rieu op het Vrijthof, Rammstein and Ed Sheeran.