Gergiev Festival

The Gergiev Festival was a classical music festival that took place annually in Rotterdam from 1996 to 2022 . The event ran there for seven to ten days. During that period, concerts took place in De Doelen by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra , as well as related concerts at various locations in the city. The festival was launched on the initiative of Valery Gergiev , who was the orchestra’s chief conductor from 1995 to 2008. Due to Gergiev’s refusal to distance himself from President Putin’s policies after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra decided on March 1, 2022 to end its collaboration with Gergiev. This also brought an end to the Gergiev Festival.