On Monday 12 October, Groningen was elected National Events City of the Year in the category of ‘Municipalities with over 100,000 Residents’. This title was awarded by Stichting Nationale Evenementenprijzen. In the words of the jury “Groningen offers solid events with a distinctive profile, including Noorderzon and Eurosonic Noorderslag.”
According to the jury, with the latter festival, Groningen is actually home to one of Europe’s leading pop and rock events. “Groningen has picked up on an interesting and relatively novel theme by linking art and science.”
Grote Markt
“Grote Markt plays a particularly interesting role as the city’s ‘living room’: the location forms an intimate setting – even when it’s accommodating a large-scale event,” according to the jury. The report continues: “With ‘The Passion’ in 2014, Groningen proved that it can also host major events that draw people from all over the country. Before that, Groningen hosted the 3FM event ‘Het Glazen Huis’ and Sinterklaas’s official arrival in the Netherlands.”
Winning formula
Groningen offers long-term support to event organisers. “When you add a unique, central location in the historic centre, a number of appealing events and the perfectly-directed 2014 edition of ‘The Passion’, this amounts to a winning formula.”
Example
The National Events Awards have been presented since 2001 to municipal administrations and events organisers. These professional tributes are intended to honour events and host cities that form an example and source of inspiration for others in the sector. This year’s awards were presented on Monday 12 October during the National Events Conference in Tilburg.
Further information can be found on the website of the National Events Conference.
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