SXSWORLD

Pink performs at Beastad Festival. PopHotspot The beach in Scheveningen. Triggerfinger at Parkpop. Maximo Park plays at Paard van Troje. The Metropole Orchestra, the world's largest professional pop and jazz orchestra, playing with the Brazilian musician Ivan Lins at The Hague Jazz 2009. Beyond Justice: The Hague Means Music Throughout the world, people know that The Hague is the location of the International Court of Justice. The court brought in Milosevic and until recently, the city was the working territory of star prosecutor Carla del Ponte. The Hague is also home to more than 80 international organisations and NGOs, so The Hague's international reputation as a beacon of peace and justice is well-earned. Still if you take another look, you will also see that there is more scene for many years; among them Golden Earring (the most successful Dutch act in the United States, with such hits as "Twilight Zone" and the classic "Radar Love"), Shocking Blue (the first Dutch band with a number one single in the U.S., with "Venus" in 1970) and nowadays Anouk, Kane and Di-rect. The Hague has been the number one pop city in the Netherlands to the city than courts and bureaucrats. Located only 30 minutes by train from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, some visitors and residents say that The Hague is a cleaner, friendlier version of Amsterdam. The city is home to the Dutch royal family and seat of the government, but beyond the bureaucracy is a vibrant and colorful city of 500,000 people, many of whom come from all over the world. And the city is home to more than 1,000 bands. It might be surprising to learn that there is huge music scene going on in a city renowned for its politics. Yet the working-class neighbor- hoods date back to the '60s as a breeding ground, when The Hague was home to an estimated 2,000 bands. For many back then, making music was merely a form of escapism from their tough social environ- ment, but some of these bands became among the best-known Dutch artists of all time. This includes bands that dominated the Dutch pop 40 SXSWorld In Focus: The Hague since the '60s and the host of highly acclaimed festivals such as Parkpop (the biggest free pop festival in Europe), Beatstad festival, The Hague Jazz and the new Walk the Line festival, not to mention the Crossing Border festival, now in its 18th year. The Hague is also well known for its great venues such as Paard van Troje and the PopHotspot. Local bands also get a lot of support from institutions like the The Hague Pop Center (HPC). The Hague makes the most of its rich diversity of inhabitants and geography. There is always something going on in this multi-cultural city by the sea, with events running throughout the year. As for city sights, well, there may not be as many canals as Amsterdam, but there is definitely an old-world feel to the historic city centre. For more water and a total change of scenery, the beach in Scheveningen (try saying that after a few drinks!) is a much-loved destination for chilling out in the summer and brisk walks in the winter. H – Helen Preston AD HUPKENS DANIEL MIHAJLOVIC BAS JONGELEEN

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