By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Opening night at the ConcertgebouwThursday 3 June 2027
- Final daySunday 27 June 2027
- Where
- Theatres and concert halls across Amsterdam, opening at the Concertgebouw
- Tickets
- Ticketed
- Time of year
- June
- Dates
- Around the same dates every year
The 80th edition runs from Thursday 3 to Sunday 27 June 2027, as the festival announced in September 2026. It opens on 3 June with the European premiere of Champion, Terence Blanchard’s boxing opera, staged for three days in the Concertgebouw around a ring in the middle of the hall. The Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen is the associate artist. The full programme is announced on 2 March 2027, and ticket prices and sale dates come with it.
We may earn a small commission from bookings made through this link. Prices stay the same for you.
The Holland Festival is the oldest international performing arts festival in the Netherlands, held in theatres and concert halls across Amsterdam for most of June. Its programme mixes opera, theatre, dance and new music from around the world, with premieres and productions made with the festival, and the biggest shows sell out. The programme is announced in early spring and tickets go on sale soon after, priced per performance: book the headline productions as soon as they are released, and fill the rest of a visit with whatever still has seats.
What Holland Festival actually is
The festival was founded after the Second World War, out of what its organisers call a need for healing, understanding and connection, and it has run every summer since. In a recent year it staged about a hundred performances in more than twenty venues, from the Concertgebouw and Carré to the Muziekgebouw on the IJ and the Gashouder in Westerpark.
Each edition has an associate artist, an international figure who shows existing work, makes new work with the festival and helps shape part of the programme. The work leans to the large-scale and the new, and many productions are co-productions or premieres.
Some events take place outdoors, and a few productions have also played in Heerlen, in the south of the country. In a recent year an outdoor opera evening was stopped after an hour by an approaching thunderstorm, and the festival ended in a record heatwave.
Where to see it
- The Concertgebouw and Carré. The big halls, used for opening productions and the largest operas and concerts. Seats here go first.
- ITA, the Muziekgebouw and the BIMHUIS. The city theatre on the Leidseplein for drama, and the two halls on the IJ waterfront for new music and jazz.
- The Gashouder and the parks. The old gasholder in Westerpark takes the large installations and immersive pieces, and the outdoor events use the city’s parks.
Tickets and what it costs
Tickets are sold per performance through the festival’s own site, at prices that vary from show to show. The full programme is published in early spring and sales open soon after; in a recent year the festival’s Friends booked two weeks ahead of everyone else.
The headline productions sell out, so book them as soon as sales open. Smaller performances and talks are easier to get into closer to the date.
Official information and booking: www.hollandfestival.nl/en
Getting there
There is no festival ground: each performance is in its own venue, almost all within a tram ride of the centre. The Concertgebouw stands at the end of Museumplein, ITA on the Leidseplein, and the Muziekgebouw and BIMHUIS along the IJ, east of Centraal Station.
June evenings are long, so a performance that ends after ten still finishes in the last of the light. Trams and night buses take you back, and a bike is quicker if you have one.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Waiting until you arrive to book
The headline productions sell out early. Book when the programme is published.
Assuming every show is in Amsterdam
A few productions have also played in Heerlen, in the far south. Check the venue before you buy.
Going to the wrong building
Each performance has its own venue across the city. Check which one before you set out.
Leaving no plan B for outdoor shows
Dutch June weather can stop an outdoor performance. Have another idea for the evening.
Other Amsterdam events
Frequently asked questions
When is the Holland Festival?
For most of June, in theatres and concert halls across Amsterdam; the dates card above shows this year’s.
When do Holland Festival tickets go on sale?
Soon after the programme is announced in early spring, through the festival’s own site. Members of its Friends scheme book first.
What is on at the Holland Festival?
International opera, theatre, dance and new music, with premieres, co-productions and work by an associate artist chosen for each edition.
Where is the Holland Festival held?
In venues across Amsterdam, among them the Concertgebouw, Carré, ITA on the Leidseplein, the Muziekgebouw and the Gashouder, with a few productions in Heerlen.
Do you need to book the Holland Festival in advance?
For the main productions, yes, because they sell out. Smaller performances and talks are easier to get into closer to the date.
Sources
- Holland Festival, official site
- Holland Festival, announcing the next edition (press release)
- Holland Festival, figures from a recent edition (press release, Dutch)
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.