A special guest visited Broeker Bootverhuur in Broek in Waterland at the end of August. World star Billie Eilish wanted a quiet, anonymous boat trip through the lakes between her performances. Owner Annelies Maarleveld was not that impressed: “I’m not that fast starstruck.“
The boat trip already took place on Saturday, August 18, but Eilish only recently posted about it on Instagram. An attentive viewer on Twitter saw that it was in Broek in Waterland. “When her management called, it all had to be anonymous. I was not allowed to know who it was about, only that it was a very well-known artist who wanted to sail with a group of six,” says Annelies.
Even though she wasn’t allowed to know anything, it soon became clear to her. She found out via the internet that Eilish had to perform at Pukkelpop on Friday and at Lowlands on Sunday. Her daughter also went to that festival. “So it was a simple addition.”
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The 21-year-old superstar arrived later than agreed. “She was supposed to come at three o’clock in the afternoon, but it turned out to be a quarter past five. I was happy for a long time: it was cloudy all day and the sun finally came out.”
“She is very friendly. She immediately shook hands. The group wanted to sail to the village, so we explained the route and how the boat worked. Afterwards I heard that she had guided the entire trip.”
110 million followers
Despite that, Annelies not fast starstruck she is extra happy that everything went well: “She has 110 million followers. You can’t really use a bad review anyway, but not at all. But she had a fantastic time, and the whole group liked the environment beautiful. I don’t think anyone has recognized her either, and I wish her that. We also deliberately did not ask for a photo, so I thought that the child should not have to and don’t have to. “
It often happens that stars or famous Dutch people come by to take a boat trip. “That doesn’t affect me. But… with Douwe Bob I would be a bit nervous.”