On the evening of 4 May, the whole of the Netherlands fell silent to remember those who died under the Nazi occupation during WWII. The following day, in glorious sunshine, fourteen Mei 5 festivals were held all over the country commemorating the end of the Nazi occupation.

The crowd during the 5 Mei Festival on Spuiplein, The Hague.

In The Hague, based around Spuiplein, there were many social and entertaining events to help people feel good about their freedom. There were two stages for a free music concert featuring some of Holland up and coming talent plus some more established stars. There were also events in the Library and the Theatre aan het Spui, dance were performed, readings and talks were given as well as other entertainments aimed at both young and old alike. It was made clear throughout the day that this was not a music festival, but was a Freedom Festival! Alongside all the entertainment going on, a serious message was constantly being made about the welfare of children, the suffering of others abroad. There were many groups there displaying what is bad about the world and that there are many that are willing to help and provide for all those in need.

At just over 13:00, the mayor of The Hague, Jozias van Aartsen, came onto the stage to open the festivities and light the Freedom Flame to commemorate what the day meant for the city.

Mayor of The Hague, Jozias van Aartsen, welcomes the crowd.

The music of course took centre stage, pardon the pun, but it is what attracted most people to the area. It was nice to watch and hear the messages being said by all those who performed on stage, stressing the need for caring amongst all the divided world and to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

The bands provided great entertainment to those who were bathing in the sun's heat, of course we all have our own personal favourites, as do I. So What & Friends were excellent, closely followed by a very impressive set by Go Back to the Zoo. Nneka was the first person to really get the crowd joining in, her soulful rhythms were just amazing, also hypnotic with its beat.

The first big star to perform on stage was Glennis Grace. This beautiful lady had the audience in the palm of her hands. Her voice was stunning, she looked gtreat as she sang, and for me, her take on Mercy by Duffy was pure magic. The crowd totally loved her and knew her hit songs. Her set kicked off the rest of the day.

Glennis Grace wows the crowd.

Other bands such as Mala Vita and Fresku performed real energetic sets. There was one band I was hoping to avoid, as I had checked them out on the internet. They were Def P & Beatbusters funky, rap type stuff, music I avoid like the plague. I will now hold my hands up and say I was wrong to prejudge. They were excellent, lots of bounce and energy; I could not believe I actually liked this. Fair play to them, they got the crowd dancing, they looked good on stage and made it a bit more difficult for the major attractions to follow on.

Next on stage was the guy I had been waiting to see. Bobby Kimble, the singer from the rock band TOTO. All day I could hear people mentioning his name and hoping he would play Africa. He surpassed my expectations; all the hits were blasted out one after another, the final two being Rosanna and Africa. He had the crowd really wanting more. I definitely want to see this man perform again in a full gig.

Bobby Kimble (TOTO) sings hit after hit to an excited audience.

Finally, the night was ended by Waylon, the Dutch singer who, at times, strikes a remarkable resemblance to Robbie Williams and who rose to fame on “Holland’s Got Talent.” Waylon was an ambassador for the entire Mei 5 event in Holland and was flown by helicopter to all the shows so he could perform. To be honest, as I am not a follower of any reality TV programmes I had never heard of him, but the waiting crowd sure did. The young girls in the crowd screamed for him and went beserk when he entered the stage. He certainly has that “WOW” factor for the female audience. I have to say I really enjoyed his music and the way he performed it. It is no surprise that he was signed up by EMI. I think this guy is going to go far.

The crowd goes mad for Dutch singer, Waylon.

I think the day was a great success. Many people enjoyed themselves. Many good messages were put across. There were groups from several charities such as War Child and Amnesty International to name but two who had many people milling about their stands. I believe this Mei 5 event is a great idea and hopefully will give some consciences a knock and help focus people on to the plight of many less fortunate than ourselves.

Text and Photo’s by Neal McClimon
neal@thehagueonline.com
www.itpphotography.com

If you wish to comment or express an opinion about this article please e-mail the editor@TheHagueOnLine.com