Ahoy' Rotterdam
Encyclopedia
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The capacity of the arena is 15,000.
History
The basis of the present Ahoy was laid in 1950. After the devastation caused by the Second World War, the city of Rotterdam had worked on reconstruction and Rotterdam port was virtually complete. To mark the occasion, the Rotterdam Ahoy! exhibition was held in a purpose-built hall on the site where the medical faculty of the Erasmus UniversityErasmus University
Erasmus University Rotterdam is a university in the Netherlands, located in Rotterdam. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th century humanist and theologian...
now stands.
The exhibition hall was called the Ahoy'-Hal. The apostrophe is a remnant of the original exclamation mark. The hall was used for a series of national and international events, such as the exhibition of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
’s work. During the North Sea flood of 1953
North Sea flood of 1953
The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm, that occurred on the night of Saturday 31 January 1953 and morning of 1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland.A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm caused a...
the hall also proved its worth as a reception centre for victims.
Ahoy Rotterdam, in its current form, was built in 1970. The complex’s striking design won various national and international awards for its special steel structures. The first event to be held there was the Femina family exhibition. Since then, Ahoy has been expanded on a number of occasions, and was renovated and refurbished in 1998 to create today’s multifunctional venue.
Notable events
- In 1975, the European final of the BBC TV programme SuperstarsSuperstarsSuperstars is an all-around sports competition that pits elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of athletic events resembling a decathlon....
was held here. - In 1978, Bob Marley and the Wailers played there.
- In 1996, Tina TurnerTina TurnerTina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
played here 8 times during her world breaking record Wildest Dreams TourWildest Dreams TourThe Wildest Dreams Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer Tina Turner. The tour supported her eighth studio album, Wildest Dreams. The tour is Turner's biggest outing to date, performing over 250 dates in Europe, North America and Australasia—surpassing her Break Every Rule Tour... - In 1999, Iron Maiden played a gig at the arena on their reunion tour called The Ed Hunter TourThe Ed Hunter TourThe Ed Hunter tour began in Saint John, New Brunswick Canada. Iron Maiden began rehearsals at Harbour Station, the city's largest arena for about a week, then performing there for one night before embarking on the tour...
. - In 2000, the Dutch singer Lee TowersLee TowersLee Towers is a Dutch singer. He was discovered in 1975 as "The Singing Crane Mechanic" and labelled as a dockworker in Rotterdam...
performed his 50th sellout Gala Of The Year concert - A special bronze bust of LT stands in the main entrance of Ahoy - He is the only person to reach this milestone at Ahoy. - On October 30, 2000 british rock band Deep Purple recorded a live album called Live at the Rotterdam Ahoy with the orchestra & Ronnie James Dio.
- In 2002, Alanis MorissetteAlanis MorissetteAlanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
filmed her Towards Our Union Mented Tour at Ahoy, which was released on the DVD Feast on ScrapsFeast on ScrapsFeast on Scraps is an Alanis Morissette CD/DVD package released on December 10, 2002 . The DVD was filmed during a concert in Rotterdam, Netherlands and the CD contains unreleased studio tracks left off Morissette's album Under Rug Swept, which was released earlier that year...
. - The 2007 Junior Eurovision Song ContestJunior Eurovision Song ContestThe Junior Eurovision Song Contest , is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union annually since 2003 and is open exclusively to broadcasters that are members of the EBU. It is held in a different European city each year.The competition has many...
was held at the venue. - The ABN AMRO World Tennis TournamentABN AMRO World Tennis TournamentThe ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the 500 series of the ATP Tour...
ATP World Tour event has been held at the venue for many years. - Destiny's ChildDestiny's ChildDestiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
filmed a concert DVD of their world tour in May 2002. - The band RushRush (band)Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
did the same during their Snakes and Arrows tour in October 2007 during the EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an leg of the tour. - Several songs on the Dream TheaterDream TheaterDream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
DVD Chaos in Motion were filmed in Ahoy also. - ShakiraShakiraShakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...
shot Live & off the Record, the concert DVD of her tour Tour Of The MongooseTour of the Mongoose-Tour Dates:-Broadcast and recordings:The tour was shot in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on April 22, 2003.The tour was chronicled on Live & off the Record. The disc included the concert along with a documentary showing the performer preparing for the show, her song writing process and her ideas about...
here on 22 April 2003. - Armin Van Buuren gave in Ahoy his famous concert Armin OnlyArmin OnlyArmin Only is an all-night dance event featuring solo performance by Armin van Buuren. The event consists of various genres of electronic dance music , light, laser and firework shows and supporting acts of vocalists such as Nadia Ali, Racoon, Ilse de Lange, and Audrey Gallagher.-Album promotion:In...
, in November of 2005 and 2006, featured by Sharon Den AdelSharon den AdelSharon Janny den Adel is a Dutch singer and composer, best known as the lead vocalist and one of the main songwriters in the Dutch symphonic metal/rock band Within Temptation...
among other famous artists. - Within TemptationWithin TemptationWithin Temptation is a Dutch symphonic gothic metal/rock band founded in 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. Their music is described as symphonic metal, although their earlier material, such as Enter, was gothic metal. In an interview, Den Adel said they fell into a...
shot the Black SymphonyBlack SymphonyBlack Symphony is a live album and DVD from Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released worldwide on September 22–24, 2008 and is available on 2-disc DVD, 2-disc CD, and Blu-ray.- Information :...
concert DVD, with the Metropole OrchestraMetropole OrchestraThe Metropole Orchestra is a jazz and pop orchestra based in the Netherlands, and is the largest full time ensemble of its kind in the world. A hybrid orchestra, it is a combination of jazz big band and symphony orchestra...
, in Ahoy. - The North Sea Jazz FestivalNorth Sea Jazz FestivalThe North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam...
since 2006. - On November 29th and 30th November 2010, Lady GaGaLady GaGaStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
have performed at Ahoy Rotterdam during The Monster Ball TourThe Monster Ball TourThe Monster Ball Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American recording artist Lady Gaga. Staged in support of her album The Fame Monster and comprising a set list of songs from that and her debut album The Fame , the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 2009 through 2011...
. - On October 16th 2011, Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
have performed at Ahoy Rotterdam during the I'm With You TourI'm with You TourThe I'm With You Tour is an ongoing 2011-2013 concert tour by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in support of their album I'm with You. It is the group's first tour since the Stadium Arcadium tour in 2006-07 and is the first to feature guitarist Josh Klinghoffer following the departure of John Frusciante...
. - On October 19th, 2011, pop superstar Britney SpearsBritney SpearsBritney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
has performed at Ahoy Rotterdam during her Femme Fatale TourFemme Fatale TourThe Femme Fatale Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer Britney Spears, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was officially announced in March 2011, with dates for North American venues revealed. The tour was initially planned as a co-headlining tour with Enrique... - On December 17th, 2011, ColdplayColdplayColdplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
will perform at Ahoy Rotterdam during the Mylo Xyloto TourMylo Xyloto TourMylo Xyloto Tour is the fifth concert tour by British band Coldplay. Launched in support of her fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto , the tour began in October 2011 with a series of rehearsal concerts in Europe...