| Pinkpop Festival | |
|---|---|
 Pinkpop main stage in 2010 | |
| Genre | Rock, hip hop, electronic, heavy metal, garage rock, alternative rock, indie rock |
| Dates | Pentecost weekend |
| Location(s) | Landgraaf, Netherlands |
| Years active | 1970–2019, 2022–present |
| Founders | Jan Smeets |
| Attendance | 108,250[1] |
| Capacity | 70,000[1] |
| Website | www |
Pinkpop is an annual music festival held in Landgraaf, Netherlands. It is usually held on the Pentecost weekend (Pinksteren in Dutch, hence the name). If Pentecost falls on an early date in May, the festival is held later in June. Starting in 1970, at Burgemeester Damen Sportpark in the city of Geleen, Pinkpop is the oldest and longest running annual dedicated pop and rock music festival in the world.[2][3]
Pinkpop is a three-day festival, from Saturday through Monday when on Pentecost weekend, or Friday through Sunday otherwise, with a 60,000 people per day capacity, and with performances on four separate stages. From 2006 through 2011, Pinkpop sold out six years in a row.[2] During 44 editions, more than two million people have attended Pinkpop. Some 700 music acts have played at the festival.[4]
In 1994 (the 25th edition), it was decided to sell only 60,000 tickets, to prevent overcrowding due to the popularity of the festival. In 1995, it was made into a two-day festival. Two years later this was further expanded to three days.
2007 saw a spin-off, later in the year, on 11 August, called Pinkpop Classic, for an older rock audience, with bands that had previously performed at the festival in past decades. This spin-off was held again in following years, with the exception of 2011, when the organisation was not able to book enough artists.
In 2008, Pinkpop was not held on Pentecost weekend for the first time. Pentecost occurred too early that year for the convenience of fans and performers alike. This was decided following the 2005 edition, in which the Pentecost weekend also fell early and therefore Pinkpop could not convince many great performers to come play at the festival. Sales were disappointing in 2005, so by shifting the 2008 festival, the organisation hoped to solve these problems. Pinkpop 2008 turned out to have had the largest concert attendance to date. The dates for the 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2016 edition have been shifted as well, for similar reasons.[5] The 2020 and 2021 Pinkpop festivals were not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ^ a b Smits, Fauve (2023-05-14). "Pinkpop overweegt vierde dag en groei naar 80.000 bezoekers" (in Dutch). VRTNWS. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
- ^ a b Gammon, John (17 June 2011). "Six In A Row For Pinkpop". London, U.K.: Pollstar. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- ^ "Pinkpop is langstlopende popfestival ter wereld" [Pinkpop is longest-running pop festival in the world]. geschiedenis.vpro.nl/ (in Dutch). VPRO independent Dutch public broadcaster. 18 May 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- ^ "Pinkpop ABC - Pinkpop History". pinkpop.nl. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ "Pinkpop 2015". Retrieved 27 June 2017.