The test locations
Innovation is crucial for the resilience of our society. That is why we are committed to good test locations for our entrepreneurs, even in times of corona measures. In this way, we will hopefully continue to be able to help startups on their way to a successful market launch in these challenging times. Below are the test locations we’re in close contact with.
Into The Great Wide Open
2 - 5 September | Vlieland, The Netherlands
Into The Great Wide Open takes place every year at various locations on Vlieland. The festival is one of the leaders when it comes to circular and sustainable organization and embraces entrepreneurs. The 6000 loyal visitors that come every year represent every generation.
Zomerparkfeest
26th till 29th of August | Venlo
Zomerparkfeest is a festival in Venlo, and is a crucial booster for culture in North Limburg. In addition, in 2021 they put themselves on the map as a living lab for the first time, made possible by LIOF, Entrepreneurial Venlo and Rabobank. This collaboration makes it possible to offer startups and SMEs from the province of Limburg who want to make an impact the space to test their prototypes. Want to know more about the festival? Check out their website: www.zomerparkfeest.nl
Eurosonic Noorderslag
13 - 16 January | Groningen, The Netherlands
Eurosonic Noorderslag is the most significant showcase festival in Europe. During the day, a conference is held for music professionals and at night, the latest music talents are presented at over 30 locations throughout the city. On the last day of the festival (Saturday), Noorderslag takes place - a festival which features new Dutch talent. This year they mainly organize their festival online, but with a crew of 150 people who organize this environment and a huge online audience. Entrepreneurs can use both to test their innovation.
Bevrijdingsfestival Overijssel
May 5 | Zwolle
The BevrijdingsFestival Overijssel is a music festival held every year in Park de Wezenlanden in the Dutch city of Zwolle on the occasion of Liberation Day.
TT Festival
17 t/m 25 juni 2023 | Assen
With 180,000 visitors in the centre of Assen, TT Festival is the prelude to the famous motorbike races at the TT Circuit in Assen. With several stages in the city, campsites around the city and large crowds, TT Festival is an interesting place for entrepreneurs to test their innovation.
Mysteryland
25 till 27 august 2023 | Haarlemmermeer
Every year during Mysteryland, the former Floriade grounds in Haarlemmermeer (about twenty kilometers outside the center of Amsterdam) transform into a fairy-tale, colorful and diverse electronic music festival. The 60,000 festivalgoers can also enjoy exhibitions by artist collectives and theater makers, dance performances, the world's smallest cinema and "spoken word" performances.
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DGTL
11 - 12 april | Amsterdam
DGTL is an international brand based in the Netherlands that also organizes festivals in Spain, Brazil and Israel. The DGTL Festival takes place at the NDSM shipyard in Amsterdam every spring, with a focus on the event's circular organization. It is a 3-day festival that welcomes 20,000 visitors per day and features a progressive dance program.
Le Guess Who?
9-12 November | Utrecht
Le Guess Who? is a festival for groundbreaking music and culture from around the world. The festival presents sounds that you hardly ever get to hear in other places but that challenge and inspire you. For four days Le Guess Who? takes over the city of Utrecht: artists perform in pop halls, theaters, churches, old factory buildings and clubs. This creates a varied range of test sites for sustainable innovations.
Oerol
11 - 20 of June | Terschelling, The Netherlands
Oerol is a 10-day art, music and theater festival on the island of Terschelling. Oerol welcomes approx. 50,000 visitors and has locations all over the island. Thanks to these diverse locations, each with their own challenges, combined with the curiosity of the Oerol audience, the festival has proven to be the ideal testing ground for various entrepreneurs. Oerol has announced that it will take place in a different shape and form than normal, due to corona.
Popronde
Fall | All around the Netherlands
The Popronde is a traveling music festival that takes place in about 40 cities in the Netherlands every fall from mid-September through the end of November. In each city, between 25 and 75 bands and artists perform in pop venues, cafés, bars, galleries, churches and other locations
ImpactFest
4th of November | The Hague
On November 4th, 2021, impact makers from all over the world came to the Fokker Terminal in The Hague for the 6th edition of ImpactFest! Together they showed that doing good & doing business together ensure the creation of a sustainable future. At the same time, at ImpactFest the European finals of the Get in the Ring - Impact competition took place.
Royal Park Live
2nd till 10th of July | Baarn
Royal Park Live is a series of concerts in the garden of Soestdijk Palace. National and international top artists will perform in the palace garden during the first two weeks of July. You walk through the wooded area to the festival grounds where a selection of local and sustainable food trucks are set up and cozy bars with special wines, cocktails and specialty beers. In between you can let yourself be surprised by street theater and several shows so you can really make a royal day out of it.
Crossroads
14 September | Utrecht
Crossroads is the event in Utrecht where investors and entrepreneurs come together. Thanks to their matching system, valuable connections are made. Listen to inspiring stories of entrepreneurs who got or didn't get funding. Learn new skills during workshops and relax at the food court with good food and music.
Here Comes The Summer
1 - 3 May | Vlieland, The Netherlands
Here Comes The Summer is the springtime version of Into The Great Wide Open held in the green outdoors of Vlieland near the Stortemelk grounds. With approximately 1500 visitors, this small festival is attended mostly by families and young children. Its location on an island, the type of terrain, and its date so early in the season, make this festival the perfect place for pre-tests.
Amsterdam Light Festival
2nd of December till the 23rd of January | Amsterdam
In December and January, Amsterdam Light Festival illuminates the city of Amsterdam. Each year, artists from around the world create light artworks especially for the festival. The festival can be experienced by boat, bike or on foot. The ideal place for startups and scale-ups to test their innovations.
LUNA Festival
24th till 26th of March | Leeuwarden
Artists from home and abroad show various light art and design during the LUNA Festival in Leeuwarden. At all kinds of fun and unexpected places in the city you will be surprised by artworks of the festival. The festival theme of 2022 is Voices. With Voices, conversations are opened between art, science and technology with imagination, speculation and action.
Welcome to The Village
16 - 18 July | Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
With 7000 visitors, Welcome to The Village is an up-and-coming festival that is held in the Groene Ster recreational park. Every year, the festival puts on an experimental music/theater/innovation program and provides Innofest participants plenty of room to experiment.
Berlijnplein
11th till 14th of November | Utrecht
Berlijnplein is a place with a heart for the city and culture in Utrecht Leidsche Rijn. On the square, city lab RAUM, theater company het NUT, welfare organization BuurtWerkKamer, consultancy agency Jonge Honden, the designers of Goede Vrijdag and dance companies 155, SHIFFT and IRC work on a colorful and multifaceted cultural program for everyone. A perfect place to test innovations.
Waddenfestival
November 4 | De Harmonie Leeuwarden
On 4 November 2021 the Waddenfestival took place in Leeuwarden. Entrepreneurs and other interested parties from the Wadden Sea area met here to be updated on the sustainable developments in the area and how entrepreneurs can contribute to these developments. There was an extensive inspiring program around food and recreation in the area.
Floriade EXPO 2022
14th of April till 9th of October | Almere
From April 14th, Almere will be the stage for the world horticultural exhibition Floriade Expo 2022 for six months. During a visit to Floriade you'll dive into the theme of 'Growing Green Cities' with surprising innovations that can make cities greener and more fun. The Floriade park is a celebration of green and sustainable technology. In this living laboratory, new technologies for green, food, energy and health are researched and applied.
FestiValderAa
2 - 4 July | Schipborg, The Netherlands
FestiValderAa is an intimate theater festival that is held in the Drentsche Aa nature reserve every year. Various theater locations all offer opportunities for a vast array of innovation pilots.
Paradigm Biergarten
Groningen
Last summer, entrepreneurs tested on the terrace in the middle of the Paradigm festival site. A large, creatively designed site with plenty of leeway for entrepreneurs. Because the Paradigm organization is familiar with the Innofest concept, the possibilities are great both at the terrace and behind the scenes.
Zwarte Cross
15 t/m 18 juli | Lichtenvoorde
The largest multi-day festival in the Netherlands with up to 200,000 visitors, who come to Lichtenvoorde from all over the Netherlands and camp in a variety of ways around the festival site. The large numbers make it a unique place for innovation pilots.
Paradigm Festival
13 - 15 August | Groningen, The Netherlands
The Paradigm dance festival attracts 8000 visitors every year. Much more than a festival, it's a breeding ground and meeting place on the former Suikerunie grounds. Paradigm is allowed to use the grounds for a large portion of the year, which makes it ideal for many interesting pilots.
Noorderzon
19 - 29 August | Groningen, The Netherlands
Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival Groningen is an 11-day art festival and large-scale summer holiday festival at a highly accessible park in the city. Noorderzon draws roughly 135,000 visitors per year and works with a large pool of enthusiastic volunteers. The festival also always organizes a program that involves sustainability. The organization is investigating the possibilities and impossibilities for a small-scale summer program with local partners.
Camping area Stortemelk
Vlieland
This is a family campsite by the sea with a large group of crew members. An interesting test spot for entrepreneurs because camping guests shower, eat, drink and sleep there. The guests at camping site Stortemelk are very open to trying out new innovations. This location was therefore extremely suitable for a pilot with the end user. Furthermore, the location is also extremely suitable for tests in the field of waste.
