Kwaku in Amsterdam

The Kwaku Festival is a traditional multicultural gathering focused on bringing people and cultures together for a vibrant combination of food, drink, dance and sport. Its origins lie in celebrating the abolition of slavery in Suriname and the Dutch Antilles on 1 July 1863, and its name is derived from a statue erected to commemorate the momentous event.

Something for everyone

The festival traditionally attracts around 300,000 visitors over the course of its four weekends, making it one of the biggest events on the Amsterdam calendar. Each weekend the larger stages are the centre of the action, providing a fun selection of DJs, live music and dance workshops. There's usually also a large Caribbean market and an area that caters especially for younger visitors, with loads of family-friendly entertainment on offer all day long.

Delicious food & football

One of the biggest draws of the event is its collection of street food vendors, many of which only participate in this annual event! From juicy ribs dripping in exotic Surinamese sauce, to spicy Korean tacos that make your tongue tingle, or stalls that stop off in the Middle East and Africa, you'll find tasty treats from all over the globe.

Another key part of the festival's programme is the Kwaku Cup which sees football teams from numerous nationalities (and of numerous ages) compete throughout the festival in order to get their hands on the trophy. Anyone can form a team and submit it to the competition!

Pink Kwaku

Kwaku updates its colour palette to turn pink. Known in Dutch as Roze Zondag, in recent years it's earned a reputation as one of the most extravagant days of the entire Kwaku Summer Festival, attracting LGBT and hetero audiences together for a multicultural spectacle. Unsurprisingly, the Pink Kwaku event is a popular cornerstone of the Pride Amsterdam programming. Head to the Kwaku Festival website (Dutch) for more information.