Summer Carnival - Zomercarnaval Rotterdam

Zomercarnaval Rotterdam

The first Zomercarnaval was held on August 4, 1984 in Rotterdam. From 2004 to 2007 the event attracted around 900.000 visitors.

Although the street parade attracts the most visitors the Zomercarnaval is a multi-day event. A week prior to the street parade the new Queen is elected in the official Zomercarnaval Queen Election. On the Thursday after the election the Zomercarnaval Beach Party is held at the Stand aan de Maas, a small beach created in the city center of Rotterdam. Several brass bands and DJ's show up and the newly chosen Queen is also present. On Friday evening the Battle of Drums is held, an event in which several brass bands compete to be named the official Zomercarnaval brass band and earn a spot in the parade the day after as well as in the Notting Hill Carnival in London. The preliminaries for the Battle of Drums are held at the Dunya Festival in Rotterdam. The street parade which is always held on Saturday includes brass bands and thousands of dancers. During and after the street parade there are two live on stage concerts at the Coolsingel and the Churchillplein until late in the evening.

In 2007 the Rotterdam carnival had an agreement with the Notting Hill Carnival for exchange of brass and steel bands.