This year’s theme is love! More than 50,000 everlovin’ visitors are expected from the Netherlands and abroad.

Held both indoors and outdoors – on pontoons in the canals, on boats, in splendid 17th-century canal houses, and in many other typical locations. The complete program can be found at www.grachtenfestival.nl

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Ten days filled with 230 activities.
As the Netherlands premieres stage for talented young musicians, the Grachtenfestival gives promising players a chance to expand their artistic boundaries and explore new horizons, in many cases through festival initiatives.

Saturday August 11th will see the premiere of ‘Nozze Don Così – The Mozart & Da Ponte trilogy’. On Sunday August 12th, the international mlw Festival Philharmonie’s young members will play a concert on the well-known Dam Square. Last but not least will be an electrifying performance by the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw on Thursday August 16th, with special guests Dr Lonnie Smith and Twogether.

The pontoon docked in front of the Festival Centre at Het Compagnietheater will be returning this year to host a range of free open-air concerts, including the official opening of the Grachtenfestival (Friday August 10th, 8:30 p.m.), the Kloveniersconcert with The Gents (Wednesday August 15th, 6 p.m.) and a grand finale in which the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw will be playing the musical score from West Side Story (Sunday August 19th, 5:30 p.m.).