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Pink Floyd release first new song since 1994 for Ukraine

Pink Floyd release first new song since 1994 for Ukraine

Yahoo – AFP, April 7, 2022 

David Gilmour: 'We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile
act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people
murdered by one of the world's major powers' (AFP/JOHN D MCHUGH) (JOHN D MCHUGH)

Pink Floyd have written their first new song in almost 30 years to support Ukrainians, the band announced on Thursday. 

"Hey, Hey, Rise-Up!" will be released on Friday, and be used to raise funds for humanitarian causes linked to the war. 

It samples Andriy Khlyvnyuk, from one of Ukraine's biggest bands BoomBox, singing in Sofiyskaya Square in Kyiv in a clip that went viral. 

Khlyvnyukh abandoned a world tour to return to Ukraine and help defend his country. 

"We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world's major powers," Pink Floyd said on their official Twitter feed. 

In a press release, band leader David Gilmour said he had been moved by Khlyvnyuk's video: "It was a powerful moment that made me want to put it to music." 

He was able to speak with Khlyvnyuk from his hospital bed in Kyiv, where the singer was recovering after being hit by shrapnel in a mortar attack, the record company said. 

"I played him a little bit of the song down the phone line and he gave me his blessing. We both hope to do something together in person in the future," Gilmour said. 

The image accompanying the song is of a sunflower, and was inspired by a viral video showing a Ukrainian woman insulting two armed Russian soldiers. 

In it, she tells the soldiers: "Take these seeds and put them in your pockets. That way sunflowers will grow when you all rest here." 

It is the first original music from Pink Floyd since 1994's "The Division Bell". 

Gilmour tweeted his opposition to the war soon after Russia's invasion, saying: "Putin must go". 

The band has also pulled their music from Russian and Belarusian streaming sites in protest at the invasion.

The Netherlands’ Eurovision entry is first Dutch song in 12 years

DutchNews, March 3, 2022 

Photo: AVROTROS

The Netherlands’ entry for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is the first Dutch language entry for 12 years. 

De Diepte (the deep) is a ‘tribute to the sadness and memories that you carry with you’, co-writer and performer S10 told the Eurovision website.

‘Everyone experiences difficult times in their lives. That’s something we all have in common and I hope you will feel less alone when you listen to the song,’ she said. 

The 21-year-old, who started performing when she was 16, is known for her extremely personal songs, often about her own experiences of depression. 

S10, real name Stien den Hollander, is best known for her hit Adem je in (breathe you in) and was described by the Eurovision website as an ‘alt pop princess’. 

The Netherlands won the 2019 edition of the festival but last year Jeangu Macrooy was a disappointing 23rd with his song Birth of a New Age. 

The Netherlands will have to get through the semi-finals to qualify for the main event, which will be held in Turin on May 14.

Stien den Hollander, better known as S10, is Dutch Eurovision choice

DutchNews, December 7, 2021

Photo: AVROTROS

Dutch singer Stien den Hollander will represent the Netherlands at next year’s Eurovision Song Festival in Italy. 

Den Hollander, who uses the stage name S10, is best known for her hit Adem je in (breathe you in) and was described by the Eurovision website as an ‘alt pop sensation’. 

She has also opted to sing in Dutch. ‘Having selected English-language entries for the last 11 years, we’re now sending a Dutch song,’ said Eric van Stade, general manager of Dutch public broadcaster AvroTros. ‘We’re sticking our necks out with this choice, which the selection committee unanimously supports.’ 

‘Music is everything to me,’ Den Hollander, 21, told the Eurovision website. ‘In front of such a massive audience, being able to do something that’s such an honour while representing the Netherlands… I think it’s absolutely wonderful.’ 

The Netherlands won the 2019 edition of the festival but this year Jeangu Macrooy was a disappointing 23rd with his song Birth of a New Age. 

The Netherlands will have to get through the semi-finals to qualify for the main event, which will be held in Turin on May 14. 

AvroTros has not yet revealed anything about the number which S10 will perform.

Dutch country singer Danny Vera dethrones Queen in Top 2000 records

DutchNews, December 8, 2020 

A still from the video of a live recording for Stenders Platenbonanza on Radio 2

Dutch country singer Danny Vera has knocked Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody off the top of the traditional Top 2000 best-loved songs in an annual competition organised by Radio 2. 

Vera’s Roller Coaster was released last year and took the number four spot in the 2019 poll. The song has now beaten Queen, who has held the top spot for the past five years. In fact, Bohemian Rhapsody has only been ousted four times since the ranking was first organised in 1999. 

In 2005, Boudewijn de Groot topped the list with Avond, the Eagles’ Hotel California was top in 2010 and 2014, and in 2015, Imagine by John Lennon took the top spot. 

The top 10, with last year’s placement in brackets 

1. Roller Coaster – Danny Vera (4) 
2. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen (1) 
3. Hotel California – Eagles (2) 
4. Piano Man – Billy Joel (3) 
5. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin (5) 
6. Black – Pearl Jam (7) 
7. Avond – Boudewijn de Groot (6) 
8. Fix You – Coldplay (8) 
9. Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd (10) 
10. Heroes – David Bowie (27)

Vera said in a reaction that he was delighted. ‘Perhaps it is indeed time for a new number one,’ he told NOS. ‘It also fits in well in a year in which everything was different.’ 

The Top 2000 is broadcast continuously on Radio 2 from December 25 to December 31.

Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light

Dutch pin their Eurovision hopes on gospel ballad ‘Grow’

DutchNews, March 5, 2020

The Netherlands’ entry for this year’s Eurovision Song Festival is being described variously as ‘not a traditional song contest entry’, ‘a gospel song’ and as having the ‘zap away factor’ since it was accidently leaked on Wednesday morning. 

Grow, the song by Jeangu Macrooy was formally presented during the DWDD talk show early on Wednesday evening but was put on Apple’s streaming service by mistake on Wednesday morning for a short while. 

‘Emotions, good and bad, are a universal language. I hope this song makes people feel a little less lonely in their search for happiness,’ Jeangu said. 

The Netherlands is hosting the festival in May, after Duncan Laurence won last year with Arcade. ‘Normally the host country submits a weaker song so they don’t win two years in a row,’ song festival expert Michiel Sampon told RTL Nieuws. ‘I think that [broadcaster] Avrotros runs a minor risk that this might just happen.’ Nevertheless, one worry is the slow start to the song, Sampon said. ‘It is a difficult sort of music and you have to listen to the end.’

Dutch conductor’s European anthem heads UK hit list

DutchNews, January 30, 2020

Photo: G.Lanting via Wikimedia Commons

A version of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy by Dutch conductor André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra is topping various hit lists in the UK as Britain heads for Brexit. 

Ode to Joy is the official European anthem, and Remain campaigners had called on supporters to download the track en masse. 

With one day to go before the UK leaves the EU, Rieu’s live version of the final movement from Beethoven’s Symphony Number 9 has topped the iTunes UK Singles Chart and the Amazon hit list. 

Brexiteers are in second place in both charts with their chart hopeful 17 million F*** Offs by comedian Dominic Frisby. 

André Rieu, who appropriately enough is based in Maastricht, has not yet commented on his surprise chart success. 

The track does not yet feature in the official UK Top 40 which is based on official sales of sales of downloads, CD, vinyl, audio streams and video streams. The latest official chart will be published later on Thursday.

All Night Long wins Grammy for the Netherlands’ Metropole Orkest

DutchNews, January 27, 2020

A retake of Lionel Richie’s all-time classic, All Night Long by Jacob Collier and performed by the Dutch ensemble Metropole Orkest was voted ‘Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals’ at the 2020 Grammy Awards on Sunday night. 

‘I couldn’t think of a better orchestra to do this with. To actually play this music with them and craft it together, that’s special,’ Colliers said on the ensemble website. 

The Metropole Orkest has previously been nominated for a Grammy Award 20 times and won three. 

Described by some as ‘the world’s leading pop & jazz orchestra’, the orchestra picked up a Grammy in 2016 for the album Sylva with Snarky Puppy and was nominated last year with singer/guitarist Raul Mídon for ‘Best Vocal Jazz Album’.

Dutch music exports rise in 2018, Afrojack was busiest dj

DutchNews, January 16, 2020 

Afrojack at the mixing desk. Photo: Depositphotos.com

Dutch popular music exports reached €216.5m in 2018, most of which was down to dance music, according to a new report for the performing rights society Buma Cultuur. 

Dance accounted for €159m of the total, a rise of €9bn on 2017, Buma Cultuur said. 

Afrojack was the busiest Dutch dj abroad, with 135 performances, followed by Tiësto with 126 and Don Diablo with 118. In total, Dutch djs, bands and other performers put on almost 15,000 performances abroad in 2018. 

‘Dutch artists are quick to adapt to changes in the market,’ spokesman Frank Helmink said. ‘There are fewer performances in North America but djs are putting on lots of shows in Asia. That is a growth market where the Dutch have a strong presence.’

12 points? Government gives public broadcasters €12.4m to stage Eurovision

DutchNews, December 4, 2019 

The event will be staged at the Ahoy. Photo: Ahoy Rotterdam via Wikimedia Commons

Culture minister Arie Slob has agreed to give the public broadcasters €12.4m to help stage the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. 

The money will come from a media reserve which is to be used for special broadcasting projects, Slob told MPs on Wednesday. 

The cost of staging the song festival in Rotterdam next May is put at €26.5m. The public broadcasters have come up with €4.5m while €9.6m will be generated by ticket sales and a contribution from the European Broadcasting Union. 

The Netherlands will host the show because singer songwriter Duncan Lawrence won the contest this year – the first Dutch victory in 44 years. 

The contest will be staged in the Ahoy exhibition complex which hosts trade fairs, tennis matches and the North Sea Jazz festival. The semi-finals take place on Tuesday May 12 and Thursday May 14, with the grand final on Saturday, May 16.

Nine-year-old Belgian prodigy set for university degree

AFP, Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD, 22 November 2019

The Belgian boy will in December become one of the world's youngest graduates

Like many other nine-year-olds, Laurent Simons likes TV and his pet dog. But he also wants to make artificial organs, and is about to get the qualifications to set him on his way.

The Belgian boy will in December receive a degree in electrical engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, which will make him one of the world's youngest graduates.

Far from being fazed by his achievements, which also saw him complete the course in just nine months instead of the usual three years, Laurent says it's "normal" -- although he adds too that it's "cool".

"I'm currently studying electrical engineering. It's about designing circuits and things like that. So chips, actually," the mop-haired youngster told AFP in the Dutch capital Amsterdam.

He adds that "I really like karting. And I like playing with my dog and watching Netflix."

His teachers run out of superlatives to describe him.

"Laurent's qualities are all simply extraordinary," says Sjoerd Hulshof, programme director for electrical engineering at the university, a course that itself is considered particularly difficult.

The boy is "the quickest student we've ever seen. And he's not just hyper-intelligent, but very nice", Hulshof told AFP.

He was raised in Ostend by his grandparents until the start of this year, 

as his parents Alexander and Lydia were "busy with work

'Being a child'

While Laurent is studying in the labs of the university, his best friends are playing tag in the playground of his old school in the Belgian coastal resort of Ostend.

Laurent, wearing a rollneck jumper, jeans and trainers, himself says that "I don't really miss primary school, but I still have friends there."

He was raised in Ostend by his grandparents until the start of this year, as his parents Alexander and Lydia were "busy with work" in the Netherlands.

Starting school at four, he completed primary in a year and a half. It has taken him just five years to go through primary and secondary school and university.

"In the end, it's about finding a balance for the child so that he enjoys life, being a child and being mischievous," says Alexander, 37, a Belgian dentist who has a practice in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam.

"His grandfather and his grandmother, who raised him, told us already: he is very intelligent, more than the others... Then, when he was old enough to go to school, they kept doing tests on him from higher levels," adds Lydia, 29, who is Dutch and works as a dental assistant for her husband.

Laurent has to be accompanied to university by his parents

'I've only just started'

They are now selling the Rotterdam surgery so they can "completely dedicate" themselves to Laurent, who must be taken to university every day because he is too young to go by himself.

"He can't take the train himself," says Alexander, whose Amsterdam home features a huge black and white artwork of the faces of himself and his son.

His parents admit they "don't understand at all" the subjects that come so easily to Laurent, whose closest companions apart from his dog are his laptop and a book on integrated circuits.

Laurent says his goal now after receiving his degree in December is to "make artificial organs to prolong life".

The reason? He wants to help heart patients -- like his grand-parents.

"I still have to see how I'll do it. I've only just started."

His parents are now already in contact with universities in the United States as they eye another degree for their son.

Aware of the media attention that has recently surrounded his son, Alexander says his son is growing up in a healthy environment unlike "singers and pop stars."

"If, one day, we realise he's becoming big-headed, that he's becoming pretentious or arrogant, we'll put his feet back on the ground."

VIDEO: Child prodigy Laurent Simons, 9, will graduate from the Eindhoven University of Technology before the end of the year after completing a multi-year course in less than 10 months pic.twitter.com/WiH3a9fbZU

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 24 november 2019

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"Common Questions from Non-Lightworkers" - Feb 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"... Question Three: Is there life on other planets?

... I will tell you, as long as you stay in 3D, you'll still be getting in little metal cans and air suits and going to planets. As soon as you begin the quantum age, however, you will simply wish yourself there, because you will be entangled with everything and can go with intent. If you don't believe this now, you will later, for what I give you is true. It may be lifetimes and lifetimes from now, but the group that is before me is the group that is going to come back over and over. The difference is that you're done coming back in an old energy. This is a new energy..

When you come back, dear one, everything you know will be in your DNA and be on top [available]. You're not going to have to go through what you did before. As soon as you decide to look around and open the door [metaphor for free choice to awaken], everything you've learned this time around will be right there.

This is the attribute of what you would call "a child of new consciousness," which you have labeled with a color - indigo. The child remembers who they are. They are conceptual, and you believe they have to be taught from scratch! Hardly! They remember! Do you understand what is taking place? We told you this last time, but we want to review something with you: The animal on the prairie drops its calf and within hours, the calf is up, running with the herd. Did you know that the calf instantly knows who its enemies are, what water to drink that doesn't smell right, and what berries to eat that are not poison? Where did that come from? How did that infant animal know these things? The answer is that this information was biologically inherited. You call it instinct. But when you have a Human baby - nothing! It doesn't know anything but that it's hungry. It requires 20 years of teaching! Aren't you tired of that? Did you ever think about why the animals have so much knowledge to begin with and you have so little? Does that seem correct for the top of the evolutionary ladder? It's time for that to change.

You're starting to see it, even with the indigos. They come in knowing. That's why they're so impatient. You're trying to teach them things they already know instinctively. Just like the calf on the prairie, they come in knowing. Some of them try to teach you. That doesn't always go well. That was question three...."

"The Quantum Factor" – Apr 10, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Galaxies, Universe, Intelligent design, Benevolent design, Aliens, Nikola Tesla (Quantum energy), Inter-Planetary Travel, DNA, Genes, Stem Cells, Cells, Rejuvenation, Shift of Human Consciousness, Spontaneous Remission, Religion, Dictators, Africa, China, Nuclear Power, Sustainable Development, Animals, Global Unity.. etc.) - (Text Version)

"..... DNA - A Quantum Force 

Now we get to the core truth, don't we? So I will tell you. The ninety percent of DNA which is quantum, is filled with information, both esoteric and timeless. It is a quantum blueprint for everything you are and have been since you arrived on the planet the first time. DNA contains instruction sets for your life; everything from your full Akashic Record - every single lifetime you have had - to the benevolent creator's fingerprint within the seeds of creation itself. Every single talent you ever had is there, even if you don't have any of those today... the record is there. Every predisposition of weakness and strength are there. Biologically, every single instruction to every single stem cell is there. . ..."

"..... DNA is a Dynamic Molecule, not a static one.

Humanity is stuck in the 3D portion of their biological thinking. In your 3-D life, you simply accept the chemistry you're given. You act as though the three percent gene producing part is all there is. You believe it is a chemical protocol that is unchangeable and simply "you." You don't see it for the way it's designed. It's dynamic and always has been. It's not set, but will continue to simply repeat what it does unless there is another quantum influence on it.

Therefore you live with the 3 percent as though it were all there is, and since it just "came with your body" and seems to control everything, you never talk to it. Many of you come in with pre-dispositions based upon the karma which is put upon you from your past lives. You don't come in clean [without karmic energy]. Instead, you arrive with pre-dispositions, fears and phobias. Some are positive. Perhaps you come in as a prodigy continuing your last life... the 8-year-old who can paint like a master and do brushstrokes that take 30 years to develop. What does that tell you about what must be in the DNA?

Perhaps you come in as the composer, the pianist, the prodigy, the violinist, just waiting until your hands can go on the fingerboard or can reach up and fret the notes. Perhaps you come in knowing how to play the piano, just waiting for your hands to get big enough to do what you used to do... without any lessons. How do you explain that, dear ones? The answer is that all this is contained in the dynamic quantum instruction sets of your DNA... the part you never talk to it. .."

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon, would you please tell me if Indigo Children and Star Children are the same? Can someone born in the 1960’s be an Indigo?

Answer: Dear Human, don’t get bogged within your linearity in these things. You wish to compartmentalize everything, and thereby feel more comfortable in your understanding. Know this: All children being born on the planet have strong potential to be of the Indigo consciousness. Within that group there are many parts and attributes. What you have called a “Star Child” is a type of Indigo. The same goes for the “Crystal Children.”

Years ago we identified a new breed of Human that was slowly being introduced to earth. Now they are so plentiful that many are beginning to notice and categorize them. Our admonition is NOT to, but we know that sometimes make you feel better to do so. Another name for these “Star Children” are the Interdimensional or even the Interplanetary, if you wish.

As far as the potential of those born before or during the 1960’s: The answer is yes, but with a qualification. The “pure” Indigo Children have really only been arriving slowly for the past 25 or 30 years, but there are many who have what we call an “Indigo overlay.” This is Human who fits the generalizations, but without some of the absolutes that are buried in what you call the DNA that really qualify this new Human experience.

— Kryon

2016 begins and ends with music deaths

Fans of British singer David Bowie were stunned by his death on January 10, just

two days after releasing an acclaimed album, "Blackstar" (AFP Photo/FRANCK FIFE)

"THE THREE WINDS" – Feb 23-24, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Humanity, Home - other side of the veil, Wind of Birth - Birth, Wind of Existence - Life, Wind of Transition - Death) - (Text version)

“… The Human Spiritual System

The puzzle during your life is about how much of this truth of being part of the creator you can accept. How far can you open the quantum door to see this truth when you are alive? This single attribute determines how enlightened you become during life. Listen: It's not how much knowledge and experience in is your Akash, but how much you allow yourself to believe it. There are many old souls on this planet who have an amazing amount of spiritual learning, yet they don't want to touch that "spiritual jar" within them at this point in their lives. This is the free choice of the Human Being we speak about.

There is immense planning that puts you at the Wind of Birth. What did you accomplish during the last lives, if anything? Who were you and what did you do? What energies did you start that were not complete that you wish to continue? What soul group were you in? Who were your parents? Are you in certain soul agreements to become their grandchildren? That is more common than you think! There are so many things that go into the planning of the "entry energy" of your life, and each life potential is different and unique. The planning is done by you when you have "the mind of God" on my side of the veil.

Humans don't like the fact that there is no generic spiritual instruction manual that states, "Here is what happens and here is what to do." Listen, dear ones, humanity is honored way above that! Are all your children the same? Do books on how to raise children always work for your child? The answer is no, because each soul is totally unique. But Humans still wish to have a list of things to do and not to do, as though each soul somehow came out of a spiritual machine that made them all the same. No. Instead, Spirit honors each soul with unique choice and a tremendous variety of energy selections.

The Great Artists

There are certain attributes that Humans receive on the planet, and we'll call them creative attributes. These are almost quantum attributes that may take several lifetimes to complete. What often happens to these creatives is that they go through a series of lifetimes as though it were one in order to have completion of their creative cycle. Famous artists will come back, and the first thing they want to do is pick up a brush and continue what they did before. Famous composers, famous poets and sculptors will come back and simply keep going! It's so obvious, yet you deny this in your scientific way.

So the creatives are different from the others, and their puzzle is to bring the planet the greatest treasures of art through a unified series of lives, yet personally they try to sort out the puzzle of "what they carry inside is valuable, but nobody knows it". If you've noticed, most of the great artists who have even lived and are here today carry a burden that is easily identified as "lack of self-worth". Do you see the set-up? It's ripe for personal discovery, isn't it? So can you see the Human standing in the Wind of Birth, ready to continue what they only began last time? With the "mind of God", there is a smile on their face as they hear the music that they will compose, for it's with them when they arrive.

As you stand at the Wind of Birth, you are completely and totally a unique creature with incomplete energies. It takes more than one short earthly life to create Human attributes that grow into maturity. Even non-creatives (most of you) have a lineage of starting something that never got fully completed. Sometimes it's within relationships. Sometimes it's learning or teachings. Old souls are good at this coming and going and often pick up where they leave off as they slowly change the planet by their very presence upon it. The old soul is, "Sewing the seeds of light on the carpet of linear time, not even knowing that he will also be harvesting those exact mature plants of wisdom as he returns in a subsequent life."

Therefore, dear one, you don't arrive with a blank slate, but you have to know that, don't you? The old soul feels it. The only ones who arrive with a completely blank slate are the newbies [first timers] and we'll talk about that in the next wind. But this is a room of old souls who are hearing and reading right now. Each of you is here with a spiritual jar that is filled with the experience of living on Earth, and sometimes even the attribute of "awakening to your own mastery".  ….”

‘Open Up’ is Rotterdam’s Eurovision Song Contest slogan

DutchNews, October 25, 2019

Rotterdam is hosting the 2020 edition. Photo: W. Bulach via Wikimedia Commons

‘Open Up’ is the slogan organisers have come up with for next year’s Eurovision song contest in Rotterdam. 

The festival, which comprises three live shows and the contest itself, will be hosted by the Netherlands for the first time in 40 years. 

‘We looked for a theme that explains what the Netherlands stands for,’ executive producer Sietse Bakker said. ‘This slogan invites people to open up to others, to other opinions, other people’s stories and, of course, other people’s music.’ 

The slogan is the result of workshops involving dozens of people from the creative sector and street interviews with random passers-by, Bakker said. ‘Open Up to each other, Open Up to music, Open Up to Rotterdam. Everyone is free to Open Up to whatever they want.’ 

Former slogans include Dare to Dream (Tel Aviv), All Aboard (Lissabon) and Celebrate Diversity (Kiev). 

The semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest will be held on May 12 and 14. The final will take place on May 16. The event is among the most-watched programmes in the Netherlands and next year’s contest is expected to attract some 200 million viewers.

Rotterdam 12 points: port city to stage Eurovision Song Festival

Dutchnews, August 30, 2019

Photo: Roger Veringmeier via Wikimedia Commons

Rotterdam has been selected as the host city for next year’s Eurovision Song Festival, after beating Maastricht in a short-list of two. 

The Netherlands will host the show because singer songwriter Duncan Lawrence won the contest last year – the first Dutch victory in 44 years. 

The contest will be staged in the Ahoy exhibition complex which hosts trade fairs, tennis matches and the North Sea Jazz festival. The semi-finals take place on Tuesday May 12 and Thursday may 14, with the grand final on Saturday, May 16. 

ROTTERDAM ARE YOU READY?!!! #eurovision @rotterdamahoy pic.twitter.com/Q3FK0JM9Ob

— dunclaurence (@dunclaurence) 30 augustus 2019

Rotterdam, Utrecht, Maastricht, Arnhem and Den Bosch all submitted formal ‘bid books’ to host the show, with just two making the shortlist. 

Amsterdam pulled out of the running after mayor Femke Halsema said none of the venues that were capable of putting on the event were available for the required eight-week period.

Staging the festival is likely to cost up to €30m, and Zuid-Holland provincial council has said it will contribute €1m. Rotterdam alderman Said Kasmi said he did not yet know how much the city would contribute to the bill but that it would be considerable.

Flowers and bright colours at princess Christina’s funeral

DutchNews, August 22, 2019

King Willem-Alexander and queen Maxima in the funeral procession. Photo:
Laurens van Putten / HH

The funeral and cremation of Dutch princess Christina is taking place at the Noordeinde palace in The Hague on Thursday, in an informal ceremony witnessed by family and close friends. 

The coffin, covered with sunflowers, was taken in procession through the grounds of the palace, followed by the princess’s three children. Her three sisters, including former queen Beatrix, followed them, with king Willem-Alexander and queen Maxima next in line. All the guests wore colourful clothing and a flower. 

Christina died of bone cancer last Friday at the age of 72. The princess, the youngest of four daughters to queen Juliana, had been ill for several years. 

Several musicians who had been part of the princess’ musical charity, the Prinses Christina Concours, are expected to perform at the ceremony, broadcaster NOS said. 

Funeral expert Cees van Raak told broadcaster NOS that the funeral has broken several royal traditions. 

‘Only a few people are in attendance, there is no pomp and ceremony or horse-drawn carriages and the service is not public,’ he said. 

Not only is the closed nature of the ceremony a break with tradition, but the fact the princess has opted to be cremated, he said. 

Members of the Dutch royal family are usually interred in the crypt of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

Photo: RVD – Emannuela Loddo

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Princess Christina, sister of Beatrix, dies of bone cancer at 72

Dutch teenager follows Old Town Road to music chart history

DutchNews, July 23, 2019

Young Kio. Photo: Slappyjo12 via Wikimedia Commons

The longest running number 1 in Billboard Hot 100 chart history is based on a beat by a 19-year-old from Purmerend, who sold it via music website Beatstars.com. 

Old Town Road by rapper Lil Nas C and featuring country star Billy Ray Cyrus, has been top of the listing for 16 weeks, and owes its success to the beat put together by Dutch youngster Kiowa Roukema, better known as YoungKio. 

Kio realised the beat had been picked up by the rapper when he saw memes of people dressed in cowboy attire on the video-sharing app TikTok with his instrumental playing in the background, Billboard magazine reported. 

He had been selling his beats through the the website, but had no idea who had picked it up. Doing some digging on social media, he discovered his beat had been transformed into a fully-fledged single and tracked down Nas on Instagram. 

‘I told him ”Yo, bro. This shit is fire. I wanna help promote it. If you can just put produced by YoungKio in the title, this will help me grow as well”,’ Kio told the magazine. 

‘So he was cool with it. That’s how it just went. We didn’t really have any connection. It was just him buying it from my beats store and me finding out after.’   

Can you imagine how i feel right now? 🥺 https://t.co/52wEVL7Hdp

— ~Kio (@YoungKio_) 22 juli 2019

Since then the teenager, who started making beats in 2016, has signed to proper management and other artists have reached out to him, looking for ideas. 

Kio is also hoping to work again with Nas. ‘I’ve sent him more country-trap stuff, some guitar stuff that I’ve played, but I’m also looking at even more genres and more vibes that are really different for me,’ he told Billboard. 

The aim, he said, is to help Nas ‘make something else that can also be as big as Old Town Road. Different vibes is what we’re really looking for.’

King and prime minister praise Duncan Laurence for Eurovision win

DutchNews, May 19, 2019

Photo: Thomas Hanses / Eurovision

The king and queen, and the prime minister have sent congratulations to Duncan Laurence for his Eurovision Song Festival win – the first Dutch victory since 1975. 

‘We are proud of Duncan Laurence, who has conquered Europe with his musical quality, delivered a win for the Netherlands for the first time in 44 years and brought the song festival to the Netherlands next year,’ king Willem-Alexander and queen Maxima said on Twitter. 

“Duncan’s song is a winning game! Wij zijn trots op Duncan Laurence die Europa met muzikale klasse heeft veroverd, Nederland voor het eerst in 44 jaar weer winst heeft bezorgd en het Songfestival volgend jaar naar Nederland haalt!” - WA en Máxima. #songfestival #eurovision pic.twitter.com/esSgL9ulB2

— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) 18 mei 2019

Prime minister Mark Rutte described Laurence’s performance of his ballad Arcade in Tel Aviv as ‘sublime and powerful’ and praised the way he made his position as the bookies’ favourite a reality. 

Eurovision pundit Leo Blokhuis told Dutch radio that Laurence was ‘eight times better than Madonna’ the guest performer, who was criticized for her ‘excruciating’ performance in the break before the votes were announced. Laurence has a ‘God-given voice,’ Blokhuis said. 

The Dutch entry was third after the jury results but moved into the lead with the public votes. Italy finished in second place and Russia third. 

At a press conference after his win Laurence told reporters his heart was beating incredibly hard while the votes were being announced. ‘The votes take a long time. Next year we shouldn’t do that, you could get a heart attack from it,’ he said.

‘I didn’t dare to dream to win this trophy, because this is Eurovision and anything can happen, and that’s why I love Eurovision,’ he said. ‘But it happened, the predictions came true, but still I kept seeing them as predictions. [The win] is the result of the hard work as a team.’ 

The Netherlands last won Eurovision in 1975 with Teach-In and the immortal Ding-a-dong. The Common Linnets and Calm after the Storm came second in 2014. 

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