Venues in Antwerp

Antwerp is a port city on Belgium’s River Scheldt, with a history dating to the Middle Ages. In its center, the centuries-old Diamond District houses thousands of diamond traders, cutters and polishers. Antwerp’s Flemish Renaissance architecture is typified by the Grote Markt, a central square in the old town. At the 17th-century Rubens House, period rooms display works by the Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens.

Antwerp is the home of the Antwerp Jazz Club (AJC), founded in 1938 and located on the square Grote Markt since 1994. Antwerp also has various concert halls, such as the Stadsschouwburg, the Bourlaschouwburg, the Flemish Opera, the Arenbergschouwburg and the Koningin Elisabethzaal; the latter being the home of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. Large (pop) performances are often held in the Sportpaleis or in the Lotto Arena. These event halls are located in Merksem. In addition, there are other well-known venues like De Roma and Trix, both of which are located in Borgerhout.

Some well known festivals around the city are: Linkerwoofer, a pop-rock music festival located at the left bank of the Scheldt. This music festival starts in August and mostly local Belgian musicians play and perform in this event. Jazz Middelheim is an annual summer jazz festival in the Middelheim Park. Tomorrowland is probably the most famous festival to arise from Antwerp. Though the festival is effectively located 15 km (10 mi) south of the city in Boom, its founders in the past organised a festival ('Antwerp is burning') within city limits. The office of the company behind Tomorrowland (weareone.world bvba) is located in the heart of the city. The company founders are involved in conceptualising urban planning concepts for specific Antwerp areas and are known to invite their favourite Antwerp food places to set up a pop-up at the festival. Sfinks festival is a global pop festival that takes place annually in Boechout, a village southeast of Antwerp. The first edition dates from 1976. Other popular festivals are Fire Is Gold, Ampere Open Air and Vaag Outdoor focusing more on hip-hop music, house and techno.

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Venues in Antwerp (2)

Opera Antwerpen

Frankrijklei 1

The Royal Flemish Opera was the almost 100-year-old independent Antwerp city opera until its merger in 1981 with the Royal Opera in Ghent. Both city operas were merged into the Opera voor Vlaanderen organization, renamed Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in 2014. Anyone entering an opera house immediately gets a special feeling. The imposing buildings with their ancient decorations and stately staircases and columns immediately transport you to another era: that of red carpets and opulent luxury. Going to a performance in this unique setting gives your opera visit that little bit more. However, opera houses are not only venues for performances, they also tell a story in themselves. Although they are old, they have not always existed, and both locations have undergone extensive restoration.

Lotto Arena

Schijnpoortweg 119

The Lotto Arena opened its doors on March 10, 2007 and is the result of a Public-Private Partnership between the city of Antwerp and the management of the Sportpaleis.