After ten days of art, wonder, and sunshine, Oerol 2025 has come to an end. From 13 to 22 June, the island of Terschelling welcomed over 45,000 visitors, who were carried away by the landscape, the sea, and the stories of this unique festival edition. With more than 1,000 individual acts – including performances, site-specific theatre, music, visual art, talks, workshops, and spoken word – spread across the island, Oerol once again affirmed its position as a leading international festival.
Performances by George Tobal Producties & het NUT, Wabi Sabi Theater, Be Flat, and Touki Delphine played to full audiences in the dunes, forests, and tidal flats. A new addition this year was the Strandtheater, located on the North Sea beach just behind the festival hub De Deining. Each Oerol day began at 4:30 a.m. with Amfidroom by Peergroup and ended at De Deining with bands like Kaboutertje Putlucht, Parbleu, and Blaudzun. For those who wanted to keep the energy going, there was Oerol Laat.
Festival hub De Deining hosted a continuous programme, featuring live band shows on the main stage, talks in the living room, and raves in the Ruige Hoek – every day brought something new and exciting. People of all ages gathered at the heart of the festival: from moshing to BUG, dancing at the ‘Plee-reef’ of To Pee or not to Pee, or enjoying a street theatre performance.
Managing Director Mikey Martins observed a shift in the audience: “Around 25 percent of our visitors this year were under the age of 35. That was especially visible at the festival hub. A new generation of Oerol-goers is emerging: punk, curious, edgy – but with the same spirit that fuelled the festival’s early years.” Artistic Director Sabine Pater agreed: “These are people who love creativity, who want to be surprised, and who are part of change. They respond to the invitation to embrace everything that lives within them. Makers tell us there is an increasing shared ground for challenging art – and you can feel it, in the conversations we’re having and the way we’re celebrating the future.”
For Mikey Martins, this was his first edition as general director: “I’ve spent ten days immersed in extraordinary creativity – a layered programme of theatre, dance, contemporary circus, breathtaking performances, visual art, music, and countless indescribable moments from a huge range of national and international artists. In times of increasing polarisation and social division, festivals like Oerol are more vital than ever – bringing us joy, fostering connection, bringing strangers together, and offering new perspectives through creativity and artistic expression.”
The 45th edition of Oerol Festival will take place from 12 to 21 June 2026 on Terschelling. Behind the scenes, the first outlines of the 2026 programme are already taking shape. Many makers have planted the seeds for new location-based works during this year’s Oerol – within the Oerol Werkplaats or, for example, in the Bostheater – sowing inspiration for what’s to come next year.
