World Port Days gets central festival squarebetween Cruise Terminal and World Port Center

Baltimoreplein, the large open space between the Cruise Terminal and the World Port Center at Rotterdam's Kop van Zuid, will be set up as the World Port Festival Square for the first time during the upcoming World Port Days. In this beating heart of the Netherlands' biggest annual maritime event, young and old can visit all weekend for performances, interviews, dialogues, cultural and nautical programme, catering and children's activities.

The square will be open from 10:00 am to 11:00 pm on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 September. With this, the World Port Days will also have a Friday evening programme for the first time. On Saturday, the Festival Square programming will seamlessly blend into the usual evening show with the fireworks. On Sunday 8 September, there will be a programme until 18:00. The Festival Square, like most of the Wereldhavendagen, is free to enter.

On the big stage, they can enjoy performances by musicians, dancers and DJs place, as well as interviews, activities for children, a dialogue programme between delegates from the port and Rotterdam citizens, and other cultural and nautical programming. On-stage programming will take place in alternation with the shows on the water of the Nieuwe Maas and can also be followed via the many large screens on the World Port Days quays.

Collaborations with Rotterdam organisations and individuals

For the Wereldhaven Festivalplein, we will collaborate with the Rotterdam Street Culture Week, CODARTS, Circus Rotjeknor, OPEN Rotterdam and other Rotterdam organisations and individuals with a heart for the city and the port. On Friday, the usual youth day of the World Port Days, the programme focuses on a target group aged 15 to 25. On Saturday, the programme is made for a wide audience. The exact programming of the Wereldhaven Festival Square will be announced soon.

Sabine Bruijnincx, director of the Wereldhavendagen: "There had long been a desire to create a central meeting place on our premises where we could hold on to the great atmosphere, even when after 18:00 most of the activities on the quays and on the water have ended. In the evaluations with our audience, we also saw this desire, especially among young people. I am very proud that we now get such a place, made possible by all kinds of very talented organisations that are in the middle of our city. Of course, relaxation and entertainment are central at the Festival Square, but thanks to the dialogue programme, we also show that there is room for depth at the World Port Days."

Photo: Anne Reitsma