It is a huge colossus: the Mainstage tent of Paaspop in Schijndel. More visitors can go in than in the Ziggo Dome of Rotterdam Ahoy. It is therefore the largest tent in the world and the Schijndel festival has the world first. “This tent is two to three times as expensive as the previous,” says Paaspop director Peter Sanders.
With the greatest words, the tent became, “The Giant‘, presented on Thursday afternoon in Schijndel. ‘New quantity, a beast, groundbreaking, impressive, a giant and a Game Changer“For example, it sounded in that conscious tent.
“The fire brigade was worried.”
It is really ‘a beast’. As a visitor you feel very small in the tent that is 74 meters wide, 114 meters long and 25 meters high. There can be 21,000 visitors. But ‘The Giant“Can be much bigger. “We can build it up to 100 by 200 meters. Then 35,000 to 40,000 visitors can enter,” says tenter Gunther Willems from Lommel, Belgium.
Next week national and international quantities will perform in the largest tent in the world. For example, Flemming, Loreen, UB40, Guus Meeuwis, Joost Klein, Claude, Goldband and Kensington are in the ‘largest concert hall’ in the Netherlands. The Ziggo Dome with a capacity of ‘only’ 17,000 visitors and Rotterdam Ahoy with ‘only’ 16,500 people are nothing.
Paaspop director Sanders looks out: “I really like it.” Last year he made the agreement with Willems that he wanted a new tent. “Among other things, for safety. If a fire were to break out, the previous tent were to get over steel pins at the emergency exit because it was a tense tent. The fire brigade was also worried.”
“We have done two years of work in a few months.”
But what also plays a role: all festival visitors now have a clear view. “There were poles in the previous tent. This is much more impressive.” And the price is also impressive. “This tent is two to three times as expensive as the previous one. 300,000 euros or even a little more for four festival days,” says the Paaspop director.
With that, the tent costs around six hundred euros per hour, if you count the structure. The past two weeks has been ‘The Giant ‘built up for the first time. That happened with 25 people and a huge tap.
Tenter Willems had to tear away a tear when he first entered the largest tent in the world. “Wow, was the first feeling. I have hundreds of tents, but one like this is only one.”
Willems saw a similar tent in America and they made an improved version of it. “Six months ago there was only an idea, but now it is already there. We have done two years of work in a few months.”
“It transcends all the purchases I have ever made.”
In terms of fire safety, the tent is therefore safer than the previous one mainstage-Tent on Paaspop. But ‘The Giant‘Can also take a beating. He must be able to withstand gusts of wind up to one hundred kilometers per hour. “I can recommend you: if it really starts to hail you can stand in this tent, then you are safe,” says Willems confidently.
Tell us your Paaspop story!
Omroep Brabant is there for three days at Paaspop 2025. Do you have a fun, funny, sad or remarkable story about Paaspop? Or are you planning something special at the festival? For example, do you put a good friend in the spotlight, do you have something to celebrate or do you think of someone who can’t be there? Let us go through [email protected] know!
Willems does not want to reveal how much the huge tent cost him. “A lot, a lot. It transcends all the purchases I have ever made.” In addition to Paaspop, ‘Het Best’ is also on Pukkelpop, Extrema and perhaps at a festival in the Czech Republic this year. “If I can rent the tent four times this year, I am already very happy.”
And the sound? “The noise company is still looking and testing, so that that will also be fine. It is not going to be a reverb bin, such as the Johan Cruijff Arena,” Sanders promises.
