HAPPENING 5 JUL 2026 | ROTTERDAM, 20 November 2025 – Dunya Festival is set to return to Rotterdam in 2026 with a new edition in the Zuiderpark. The free one day event will bring global sounds, spoken word and a Rotterdam-minded atmosphere to the south side of the city.
Dunya festival returns to Rotterdam Zuid
On Sunday 5 July 2026, Dunya Festival will take place in the Zuiderpark in Rotterdam Zuid, instead of its former location in Het Park by the Euromast. The festival is planned as a full day programme, with provisional times currently listed as being from 09.00 to 23.00. Entry is free.
Weekend duo with reggae roots
Dunya will be part of a weekend double bill in the Zuiderpark. On Saturday 4 July 2026, a new event called Reggae Roots is scheduled, described as a reggae festival that combines international artists with familiar Rotterdam names and emerging talent. On Sunday the park then hosts Dunya Festival.
Rotterdam Festivals and the municipality frame this “weekender” approach as a way to programme more free events on Zuid while sharing production costs. A similar pairing later in the season links Baroeg Open Air with Fiesta Futura in the same park.
Ode to Rotterdam’s cultural richness
Dunya Festival is aimed at a young and open-minded audience, and for the 2026 edition, Dunya is being presented as a contemporary ode to Rotterdam’s cultural richness. Visitors can expect a mix of styles such as electronic Gnawa, Latin soul, Afrobeat, Arab hiphop and spoken word.
From poetry park to Zuiderpark
Dunya carries a long history in Rotterdam. The festival began in the late 1970s as Poetry Park and grew over the decades into a large free event at Het Park by the Euromast, with world music, poetry, storytelling and food stalls drawing tens of thousands of visitors.
In 2013, Dunya merged with Zomercarnaval under the umbrella of Rotterdam Unlimited, and the last stand alone Dunya edition took place in 2012. The 2026 edition is therefore framed as a return of a familiar name, but in a new setting and with a renewed focus on Rotterdam’s own cultural mix rather than a direct copy of the old format.
Why Dunya moves to the Zuiderpark
The choice for the Zuiderpark is connected to wider developments around festivals on Zuid. Metropolis Festival, which had been held in the same park for more than three decades, stopped after subsidy cuts, leaving space in the July events calendar. Rotterdam Festivals actively sought new, mainly free concepts to fill that gap, with a particular focus on Zuid.
Dunya now takes up that space “in a new jacket” at the Zuiderpark. In municipal communication, the festival is mentioned alongside other new and existing events in the area, illustrating a policy line that aims to spread cultural activity more evenly across the city and give Rotterdam Zuid a stronger festival profile.
How to get to Zuiderpark
Zuiderpark is located in Rotterdam Zuid, in the Charlois area, and should not be confused with Het Park by the Euromast. The park stretches between the Slinge and Vaanweg corridors and is surrounded by residential districts, sports fields and water features.
The area can be reached by metro via Zuidplein, combined with a short walk or bus connection towards the park entrances. Cyclists from the north side of the river can cross via the Erasmusbrug or Maastunnel and follow signposted routes into Zuid. Drivers use main roads such as Vaanweg and S102, but on busy festival days public transport and the bicycle are likely to be the most practical options.
