Pop lovers in the north of the Netherlands no longer have to travel all the way to the south of the Netherlands to enjoy pop music: instead of Pink Pop during Pentecost, Emmen is hosting the Hello Festival on Whit Sunday weekend.
By Hans de Preter
The festival started on Saturday afternoon with little interference from the weather, even though festival-goers were donning their ponchos in the afternoon. The two big headliners in the first edition of the festival under its new name are Lenny Kravitz and Keane.
Het #Hellofestival is begonnen, het is droog en de bezoekers komen binnen voor een gezellig feestje. pic.twitter.com/pWOLDiYX4U
— Jan Geerlinks (@jangeerlinks) June 8, 2019
Hello Festival, which used to be known as Retropop, is set on the banks of the Grote Rietplas in Emmen and started out as a festival where bands from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s performed their biggest hits. Festival organisers chose to change the name due to the somewhat limiting nature of the term “retro”. It has already gone through at least one identity change: it used to be two separate festivals, one focused on ‘80s music and one on ‘70s music. In 2010, it became one festival – Retropop – and was held at De Grote Rietplaats in Drenthe.
Photo source: Screenshot from RTV Drenthe livestream
