About | Crossing Border Antwerp 2024

Festival

Crossing Border is one of the oldest and most innovative music and literature festivals in Europe, and the leading international festival of its kind in The Netherlands.

Since 1992, we have been welcoming the biggest names in music and literature, as well as showcasing new and exciting talent from The Netherlands and beyond.

In 2022, Crossing Border will return to Antwerp after an absence of 9 years. The Antwerp edition takes place in the same week as the festival in The Hague and is organized in collaboration with De Studio, Arenberg, Trix and Antwerpen Boekenstad.

We create a space where the borders between audiences, artists and disciplines disappear, and where visitors are invited to venture outside the boundaries of the familiar.

Every November, the historic city centre of The Hague is taken over by more than 80 contemporary writers, poets, musicians, spoken-word performers and other storytellers in 12+ venues, fusing genres and art forms for an unforgettable festival experience.

International music and literary stars including Salman Rushdie, Sally Rooney, Colson Whitehead, Nick Cave, and Hilary Mantel have all stepped onto the stage at Crossing Border over the last three decades. But we are equally excited about the raw talent we help promote, welcoming artists from every background in an inclusive space giving voice to diverse experience.

From the world of literature, guests have included:
Isabel Allende, Michael Cunningham, Dave Eggers, Allen Ginsberg, Germaine Greer, Michel Houellebecq, Karl Ove Knausgård, Elmore Leonard, Norman Mailer, Hilary Mantel, Ian McEwan, Marilynne Robinson, Sally Rooney, Salman Rushdie, David Sedaris, Colson Whitehead

Crossing Border also features an extensive live music programme with artists from different genres of alternative pop music. There are also performances of multidisciplinary artists and cross-overs. Here are some of the top-class musical artists who have joined us over the years.

Coldplay, Boubacar Traoré, David Byrne, Nick Cave, Fleet Foxes, Bob Geldof, PJ Harvey, Emmylou Harris, Lou Reed, Mumford & Sons, Ed Sheeran, St. Vincent, Patti Smith, Kate Tempest, The National, The Black Keys, Rufus Wainwright

"It was the first European arts festival I’d attended, and since then I’ve never been to a better one, anywhere. It was electric, eclectic, fun-loving, and highly democratic."

- Dave Eggers

"For many, many writers, musicians and artists, Crossing Border Festival IS Holland and the Netherlands – it is what we associate the country with: an engine of meeting and discoveries and memorable concerts and book events.”

- Alan Warner

History

It all began in 1991, in a small bookstore in Amsterdam

Bookseller Louis Behre had a small Amsterdam shop that was always well-stocked with a diverse range of titles from around the world, and the eclectic selection and welcoming vibe made it a favourite haunt of writers including the Dutch poet Simon Vinkenoog.

Organisation

Crossing Border is organized by Stichting Other World Productions, a non-profit organization which aims to promote literature and reading through compelling live events in which audiences can interact with writers from all over the world.

In addition to the main Crossing Border festival, we organize other literary events throughout the year including the regular BorderKitchen.

Past events include Het Voorwoord, Walk the Line Festival, The Music in My Head, Crossing Border Antwerpen, Crossing Border Enschede, and Words on Fire (Crossing Border Maastricht).