Our ambition

Over the past 50 years we have grown into the largest event in the Nether­lands and one of the largest in Europe: spread over sev­en days more than 1.5 mil­lion vis­i­tors find their way to Nijmegen. But our ambi­tion is not to con­tin­ue to grow indef­i­nite­ly. We are far more proud of the fact that among the 50 largest events in the Nether­lands, we rank high­est in terms of atmos­phere: The Vier­daagse­feesten is the event with the best vibe in the Netherlands!

Our mis­sion is to bring peo­ple togeth­er in a safe, friend­ly set­ting where every­one can be them­selves and embrace new expe­ri­ences. We want to cre­ate the space you need to enjoy, be at your best, and broad­en your horizons. 

That is why we work with our part­ners based on the fol­low­ing core values:

Par­ties for every­one: all ages, back­grounds and pref­er­ences are wel­come with us, we pro­gram as broad­ly as pos­si­ble and ensure that every­one feels at home

Par­ty­ing respon­si­bly: we lim­it our eco­log­i­cal foot­print and par­ty as sus­tain­ably as pos­si­ble, which is what we ask of our­selves, our orga­niz­ers and our audience

Par­ties with an eye to the future: we like to give impor­tant inno­va­tions a place, as a test­ing ground for inno­va­tion, in order to be a fes­ti­val for the gen­er­a­tions of now and tomorrow

Our secret?

The Vier­daagse­feesten is not a sin­gle event, but 40 fes­ti­vals rolled into one: every podi­um is its own fes­ti­val. Some 15 event organ­is­ers, cater­ers and cul­tur­al insti­tu­tions are each respon­si­ble for the pro­gramme of one or more podi­ums. They all have their own spe­cial­ties: pop, clas­sic, rock, tech­no, urban, jazz, songs about life. Big names, upcom­ing tal­ent from the Nether­lands and abroad, cov­er bands, but also the­atre, dance, work­shops and lectures. 

This means every street cor­ner has a dif­fer­ent atmos­phere and attracts a dif­fer­ent audi­ence: all ages and lay­ers of soci­ety come togeth­er. The Vier­daagse­feesten con­nects gen­er­a­tions: feel com­fort­able cel­e­brat­ing with your moth­er, grand­pa or young cousin. 

The Vier­daagse­feesten is an invi­ta­tion to get out of your com­fort zone and be sur­prised. There where you least expect it you’ll find the best per­for­mances and the great­est peo­ple. Make new friends, get out of your bub­ble and into the fil­ter bub­ble and cel­e­brate with an open mind! 

Vier­daagse and Vierdaagsefeesten

The Vier­daagse­feesten began in 1970 under the name ​‘Zomer­feesten’ to offer all the walk­ers of the 54^th edi­tion of Inter­na­tion­al Four Day March­es some enter­tain­ment in the city. Although the Vier­daagse­feesten is now an inde­pen­dent event and many vis­i­tors come to the city for the fes­ti­val atmos­phere and pro­gramme alone, the Four Day March­es and the Vier­daagse­feesten are still inex­tri­ca­bly linked. Despite being two sep­a­rate organ­i­sa­tions, we share com­mon val­ues such as vital­i­ty, health, sol­i­dar­i­ty and sustainability. 

On Sun­day and Mon­day, when the walk­ers come to pick up their start­ing num­bers the city is filled with fresh walk­ers on the eve of the march­es. On Tues­day and Wednes­day, the Four Day March­es route runs through the city cen­tre, and fes­ti­val vis­i­tors enjoy cheer­ing on the walk­ers from the side lines. On Wednes­day, many fes­ti­val vis­i­tors wear pink as a sym­bol of accep­tance and diver­si­ty. Our Pink Wednes­day dress code has also been adopt­ed by many Four Day March­es walk­ers. And after the Fri­day fin­ish on the Via Glad­i­o­la, fes­ti­val vis­i­tors can share a beer with the tired, but hap­py walk­ers. Inci­den­tal­ly, the more seri­ous par­ty-goers will also have cov­ered quite a bit of dis­tance by then: a tour past all the fes­ti­val podi­ums is approx­i­mate­ly 7 km long, and takes sev­en days to complete! 

Cel­e­brate the start of the sum­mer. Free and acces­si­ble. Enjoy the festival.