city news - RotterdamStyle.com

Rotterdam Zoo opens new Shark Hall

Bryan van Putten city news 14 October 2019

On Tuesday, October 8th, Rotterdam Zoo reopened the completely renovated Shark Hall in the Oceanium. Clearly visible through the spectacular, 7.5-metre-long glass wall, two professional divers ventured among the countless sharks, barracudas and sea turtles in the Atlantic Sea Basin to festively cut the ribbon after a few months of renovation.

Special event location

In 2001, the Oceanium of Blijdorp Zoo was opened. Next to beautiful aquariums housed within a cavern-like structure, the Oceanium also features congress and event halls.

The Shark's Hall is the most popular event location in Blijdorp. Around 250 events are hosted here each year; from meetings to weddings and from festive Christmas dinners to complete congresses. During the intensive renovation, everything was renewed and upgraded. The Shark Hall has been given an attractive, modern look and is ready for a wide range of new and innovative events.

Erik Zevenbergen, Director of Rotterdam Zoo, explains: "We are very happy to be able to open the pearl in our crown again. What makes the Shark Hall unique is the 7.5-metre-long window that provides a spectacular view of the turtles, barracudas and sharks in the Atlantic Sea basin. Because of this unique view, an event in the Shark Hall is always a special event."

Wine consumption in the Netherlands - research & statistics

Bryan van Putten city news 27 September 2019

Wine

If you ask us, there's no such thing as the right time for wine. Around here it's always wine o'clock. Though the Netherlands might be the famous home of beer brands like Heineken, people here do love wine as well.

In the Netherlands, the cities that drink the most wine are Amsterdam (157,472 litres), The Hague (107,455 litres) and Rotterdam (86,758 litres), respectively. People in The Hague sure love their wine. The result is remarkable because Rotterdam has more around one hundred thousand more inhabitants than The Hague.

Den Bosch drinks the most wine

But the city that has the most fun with wine is actually Den Bosch. In the past year, inhabitants of Den Bosch ordered the most bottles of wine per thousand inhabitants. With a total of 41,280 bottles ordered compared to The Hague's 143,273, Den Bosch is well behind. But if the population were the same as in The Hague, the capital of Noord-Brabant would have stood head and shoulders above the rest with 201,079 bottles.

The statistics are the result of large-scale research conducted in the Netherlands by Wijnbeurs.nl and Wijnvoordeel.nl that focused on sales and consumption in the provincial capitals.

Wine consumption in Netherlands' provincial capitals (x 1000 inhabitants)

Wait, before you ask why Amsterdam and Rotterdam aren't in the list. Haarlem is the capital of North Holland while The Hague is the capital of South-Holland. That's right, Amsterdam and Rotterdam aren't capitals in their respective provinces.

• Den Bosch = 374 bottles
• Maastricht = 365 bottles
• Middelburg = 360 bottles
• Haarlem = 335 bottles
• Lelystad = 279 bottles
• Assen = 277 bottles
• Den Haag = 266 bottles
• Zwolle = 252 bottles
• Groningen = 243 bottles
• Arnhem = 242 bottles
• Utrecht = 221 bottles
• Leeuwarden = 134 bottles

Maastricht and Middelburg

If you're a true wine lover, you should be making friends with folks down south. Residents of Maastricht (Limburg) and Middelburg (Zeeland) ordered 365 and 360 bottles of wine respectively per thousand inhabitants. That is well above the national average.

Another remarkable stat is the large gap with Leeuwarden. It seems that wine is less popular in the far north. In Leeuwarden, only 134 bottles per 1000 inhabitants were ordered in the past year.

Red wine takes the crown

Of the wine lovers who bought wine online at the Wijnbeurs in the Netherlands in the past twelve months, 74.75 per cent ordered red wine. Only 38.45 per cent opted for white and 31.04 per cent of the fans went for a mixed package with different wines. Rosé (7.26 per cent) and sparkling wines (2.20 per cent) were much less popular among wine lovers.

Classic wine countries continue to be popular

Wine from the classic countries, also known in the wine world as the old world, remains the most popular. Over the past twelve months, France has stood out from the crowd. Of online wine buyers, no less than 66.56 per cent went for French wines, followed by Italian wines (39.07 per cent) and wines from Spain (38.25 per cent). The United States is the most popular wine country outside of Europe. However, only 7.84 per cent were North American, followed by New Zealand (4.28 per cent) and Austria (3.68 per cent).

Digital car rental service UFODRIVE available in Rotterdam

Bryan van Putten city news 08 September 2019

Car sharing app UFODRIVE is now officially available in Rotterdam. UFODRIVE is a fully digital electric car rental service that aims to simplify the car rental process, making long queues and paperwork a thing of the past.

The UFODRIVE fleet consists only of high-end electric cars such as the Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S and the Audi e-tron. All the cars are available for pickup in the Interparking parking garage located beneath the Markthal. The prices are fixed and vary per car. Renting a Tesla Model 3 is already possible from €99 per day. The more luxurious Tesla Model S is available from €149 per day. The costs for charging are included in the price. The cars can be rented 24/7.

UFODRIVE app

You can book a car via the website or though the free app (available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store). UFODRIVE makes car rental accessible by using the UFODRIVE app. After you look up and rent your desired car, the vehicle is charged and washed. This allows you to start your journey, in a fully charged and clean car, without delay. Returning the car also goes very smoothly. All you'd need to do is connect the car at the charging point.

UFODRIVE launches in Rotterdam

Zero emissions and green energy

By using UFODRIVE, city residents, (business) travellers and car enthusiasts can avoid the cost of car ownership. In addition, the service contributes to a clean, quiet city with no emissions. Each car is equipped with an Eneco charging card and is therefore powered by 100% green electricity. In addition, UFODRIVE donates €1 per 100kg of CO2 savings to green energy projects, thereby contributing to a sustainable and emission-free world.

UFODRIVE expansion

With the expansion in Rotterdam, UFODRIVE is adding another new city to its list of European locations. A year ago, the service opened its first location, a so-called UFOBay, at the airport in Luxembourg. Since then, UFODRIVE has rolled out in Brussels, Dublin, Hamburg, Cologne, Amsterdam and The Hague.

Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen reaches highest point

Bryan van Putten city news 06 September 2019

The tallest point has been reached in the construction of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen. The world's first fully accessible art depot stands tall at 39.5 metres. The building, designed by MVRDV, will open its doors in 2021.

Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen has reached its highest point. Bas Kurvers, Rotterdam Alderman for Building, Living and Energy Transition is pleased: "Rotterdam is the city that keeps reinventing itself. And if there is one thing we are proud of, it is the Rotterdam skyline. And that's what the depot will soon be part of."

"The highest point has been reached and that means 'topping out.' Together with all the partners and the BAM men and women who have worked extremely hard on the construction of this fantastic project, we toast to this milestone" said Hans Polderman, project director at BAM.

Inside the Depot

With the opening of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in 2021, the entire collection of 151,000 works of art of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen will become accessible to visitors. As soon as they enter the new building, visitors will be presented with an awe-inspiring impression of the size of the collection and the activity in Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen.

Fancy a tour? Or would you rather explore on your own? Visitors to the Depot will have the choice of entering the depot with or without a tour guide. All visitors can take the express elevator to a rooftop terrace with catering facilities and a panoramic, view free of charge.

During the tour, visitors pass through the high atrium display cases to educational areas, presentation rooms, the cinema and cinema cabins and the expertise centre where art objects are being restored. The visitor has a view of the various depots and technical rooms through glass vistas and can see works of art being restored from start to finish, silverware polished and masterpieces packaged for transport to exhibitions at home and abroad. Visitors who want to discover more can wander through a large part of the building on their own after buying a ticket.

Construction facts - Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen

1.    The highest point measures 39.5 metres
2.    The deepest point is 248 metres below ground level: heat and cold storage.
3.    The diameter of the building is: 40 meters (base) and 60 meters (top)
4.    The building has a ground floor plus 6 additional floors.
5.    The steel construction weighs 320,000 kg.
6.    Approx. 9,250 m3 of concrete has been used.
7.    A total of 1,664 mirror panels will be placed on the facade.
8.    The building stands on 276 foundation piles (approx. 20 metres long).
9.    From the first pile, it took 562 days to reach the highest point.
10. 450 construction workers have been involved in the construction
11. There are 4 elevators: an express elevator to the roof terrace, a public elevator, an art elevator and a staff elevator.
12. There are 5 atrium steps and a total of 184 steps.
13. A number of solar panels, to be determined, will be placed on the roof of the pavilion.
14. There will be 5 different types of climate in the depots
15. 75 multistemmed birches are placed on the roof with a crane.
16. 135 people can enjoy catering on the 6th floor
17. Approximately 750 m3 of concrete was poured into the first ring (approx. 12 metres high).
18. 6,250 m3 of soil has been excavated.
19. The floor area covers 15,541 m2.
20. 6,609 m2 of mirror panels are mounted on an aluminium substructure.
21. Approximately 1,500,000 kg of reinforcement steel has been used.

A museum in transition

From early 2019, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has been in transition. The museum is being renovated on a large scale. In this transition period, the museum's collection will travel through the city of Rotterdam and the world. Eight neighbouring locations in the city have entered into a unique collaboration under the name 'Boijmans bij de Buren' (Boijmans at the Neighbours). In eleven surprising exhibitions, the neighbours will keep a variety of collection items on display. Boijmans also operates abroad with travelling exhibitions. Starting in the 2019 school year, the museum will be introducing Rotterdam pupils to real museum items with 'Boijmans in the classroom'.

Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is a joint project of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Municipality of Rotterdam and Stichting De Verre Bergen. For more information about Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, go to boijmans.nl/depot.

About Festival Downtown - An interview with Immanuel Spoor

Bryan van Putten city news 05 September 2019

Every first Saturday of October, electronic music fans all over the region flock to downtown Rotterdam for a festival that is unlike any other in the city. We sat down with the festival's founder to find out what the annual gathering is all about.

Not all festivals are created equal. Some, perhaps most, follow a similar pattern of artists and songs. For Immanuel Spoor, organising a festival is about helping local creators, by providing them with a platform through which they can connect with larger audiences. Festival Downtown, in particular, is a progressive festival centred on music discovery that boasts serious headliners. Here, words like 'mass' and 'mainstream' simply do not apply. Most of all, to quote Spoor, Festival Downtown is about "giving local artists the place they deserve."

De Nieuwe Lichting foundation

His organisation, De Nieuwe Lichting, is the driving force behind many events in the city. If you haven't heard of Festival Downtown, perhaps you have heard about the Eendracht Festival or the Homegrown nights at BIRD.

The following is a Q&A with Immanuel Spoor:

How did Festival Downtown get started?

"I once attended an electronic music festival in Amsterdam which I liked a lot. But it also got me thinking about how we didn't have anything similar in Rotterdam. However, I knew that if it was done in Rotterdam, it would have to be done in Rotterdam fashion. It would have to be broader and edgier. The audience coming to the festival would have to be diverse and the music would need to be a bit rougher around the edges. Genres like heavy bass, punk attitude, hip-hop and dubstep would be more than welcome.

As I was mulling it over, the local shopkeepers association approached me and asked why I couldn't make Eendracht Festival last longer than a day. I decided to launch Downtown instead."

What is the goal of Festival Downtown?

"The goal is two-sided. On the one hand, I think that Rotterdam, in terms of creators, is really a unique and interesting hotbed, with so many cultures together and so many young people. Such a metropolitan city, actually the only one in the Netherlands, is home to many interesting makers.

You have a wide spectrum of electronica and electronic soul that morph into hip-hop. That's where I think Rotterdam excels. Yet, when I look at talent development, I believe that is the main aspect where we still lack opportunities. So the goal of the festival is partly to provide those development opportunities to Rotterdam-based creators.

On the other hand, I think that quality music being made in a progressive city like Rotterdam needs to be made more accessible. Downtown is reflective of the Rotterdam identity and is deeply rooted in the scene. For each participating festival venue, we work with one or two programming partners who really know what's going on and how to reach the target group."

There are many festivals that take place in Rotterdam. How does Festival Downtown position or differentiate itself?

"Festival Downtown is Rotterdam's premier progressive music festival with a focus on electronic music. In the coming years, people from Belgium, France and Germany will all know that on the first Saturday of October, Rotterdam is the place to be."

De Likt performing at Festival Downtown 2016 📷 Lars Hidding

What's the difference between Festival Downtown and Eendracht Festival, considering they both take place in the same area?

"On the surface, Eendracht Festival and Festival Downtown do resemble each other. They both take place in the same general area of the city and many of the participating locations are the same. However, from an artistic point of view, Festival Downtown is actually a very different festival.

While Eendracht Festival is a showcase for different types of local bands, Festival Downtown is really focused on electronic and electronically inspired music. It's a showcase for pioneering electronic music from both Rotterdam and abroad. The line-up features local pearls as well as international headliners. Festival Downtown also has slightly fewer participating locations, 15 versus 20, but offers a somewhat beefier lineup."

What do the performing acts have in common?

"Festival Downtown is a night during which many niches are represented. For the visitors, it needs to be a true music discovery festival. Of course, quality is and will always be the number one criteria. I'm looking for quality up and coming acts that will be performing at major festivals in one or two years. I work together with Guido van Dieren to find and book acts that are either electronica or electronica inspired.

How will the festival develop in the future?

"Festival Downtown has been growing steadily in the past years. The event's programming has become stronger every year and has attracted bigger names as well as more local creators. It has become a serious festival with a national impact. In ten years' time, the festival will be multidisciplinary. It's going to have more depth, become a platform for innovation, and fulfil its goal of helping creators by bringing audiences into contact with something they don't know yet. The way I see it, when we get to our tenth edition, the festival will have grown so large, that we'll just block off the Nieuwe Binnenweg with the mainstage and have everybody partying on the street. Who knows, maybe we'll have Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar!"

For more information on Festival Downtown:
• Read our article on Festival Downtown.
• Visit the official Festival Downtown website.
• Visit the official De Nieuwe Lichting website.