That having it rain buckets on the day of your event is every organizer’s and visitor’s nightmare. But the tropical heat that Pinkpop is suffering under is also a challenge for both the audience and the artists.
Bottles of water and sunscreen are flying off the shelves at Pinkpop this year. Anyone who wanders around the grounds for a while will see quite a few sunburned necks and noses. The organization says they have provided extra shaded areas, but it’s a matter of fitting in to avoid the sun for a while.
Claude gets to kick things off on the main stage on Saturday, where he himself can stay in the shade. In front of the stage, it’s filling up with families and children, who are cautiously swaying to his infectious mix of French and Dutch pop. Claude is well aware of what his audience is going through and regularly reminds them to drink enough water. He even shares one of his own bottles.
Besides his danceable hits like Eurovision song C’est La Vie and Ladada (Mon Dernier Mot), there is also room for an emotional moment. He performs a loaded version of his collaboration with Suzan & Freek, Vas-y (Ga Maar). He dedicates it to the duo who are going through a difficult time because Freek is terminally ill. “They are watching at home, so sing extra hard for them,” he encourages the audience. Tears are wiped away here and there.
That goosebumps are also possible with this temperature is also proven by singer-songwriter Tom Odell (photo above) and the band The Last Dinner Party. Their fans in the first rows can be seen crying on the big screens several times. The heat doesn’t seem to bother Odell much, by the way. The Another Love singer completes his performance with his jacket still on, while he is certainly not just sitting still behind the piano.
Smoke machine against the sun
Emotional moments enough, but there must also be a party. Joost Klein takes care of that. The quirky artist brings a show that shoots off in many directions, but ultimately takes Pinkpop to Gabberland with a lot of ‘hakken’. The Europapa artist also has a solution against the sun. He calls on the crew to put the smoke machine to work, so that he disappears into the mist. That way he can’t get burned, he thinks.
The Swedish-Venezuelan pop star Omar Rudberg is lucky earlier in the afternoon that he is programmed on the only covered stage of Pinkpop. The singer has a loyal following of teenage girls as fans who shout along with every word from the first row, whether it is in Spanish, Swedish or English. The tent gets a degree warmer every time Rudberg wiggles his hips seductively and grabs his crotch.
Meanwhile, the punk band Amyl and the Sniffers are working up a sweat on the North stage. The burning sun doesn’t stop the fans from starting a moshpit in front of the stage. By the time headliner Olivia Rodrigo gets to close the second day of Pinkpop, the sun has gone down and the temperature is a lot more pleasant. So her fans can jump and sing along undisturbed.
Winter coats and a suit with wings
On Friday, the temperature peaked around 26 degrees, but that is still quite hot if you are working hard on stage, says the band Hiqpy afterwards. Singer Abir Hamam even feels her feet burning in the stilettos she is wearing. “That shiny stuff is black, so it gets very hot. I was really struggling.”
Mika, known for hits like Relax, Take It Easy and Grace Kelly, doesn’t make it easy for himself. He comes on in a suit with big wings, which Gerard Joling would be jealous of. “It looks like Coachella here,” he refers to the American festival in the California desert. “But with nice people,” jokes the singer.
The Belgian artist Oscar and the Wolf also seems to have ignored the weather forecast. The singer comes on in a long, thick coat, which he throws off, soaked in sweat, after two songs. He and his army of dancers are lucky that they are on stage on Friday evening when Pinkpop has cooled down considerably. The same applies to Tate McRae, who would otherwise have worked up a serious sweat with her extensive choreographies.