The festival entitled At the Watergate took place from May 9 to 11 in Sneek, the Netherlands. It was the 13th edition of the festival patronised by the European Music School Union.
It was a unique showcase of the diversity of European culture, bringing together around 6000 young musicians to perform 1000 concerts in and around Sneek. The musical styles ranged from classical to pop, from folklore to Jazz music with everything in between and much more.
As a truly European idea, the youth music festivals are means to display the liveliness of the diverse musical traditions in Europe. At the same time, it demonstrates unity when young musicians from a multitude of different countries join in to speak in the common language that is music.
Over the years, the EMU and its member associations have built up enormous amounts of experience in organising these festivals. More than that, the interest of EMU members to host one of these festivals themselves has been growing over the years, thus demonstrating the power of music and culture in unifying nations.
More photos from the Festival can be seen HERE