North Sea Jazz Festival

Founded in 1976 in The Hague by promoter Paul Acket, the North Sea Jazz Festival now takes place in Rotterdam at the Ahoy arena, held every year on the second weekend of July. Despite its name, the lineup ranges well beyond jazz into blues, soul, funk, hip hop and R&B across some fifteen stages. With more than a thousand musicians and around 150 performances, it retains an intimate feel even as attendance nears 90,000 visitors.