Welcome to the 61st edition of the Forum Song Contest (FSC) from Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Welcome to a ‘Game of Thrones’, a ‘Battle of Songs’ - May the Strongest Song Win
We are here as a result of The Netherlands’s great victory in FSC February 2014
with Diesel Disko ft Stefany June’s song “Moonlight” [ see video beneath picture ^ ]
Congratulations once again!
The Host city for this FSC-edition is : Maastricht , a city and a municipality in the
South-East of The Netherlands . It is the capital city (population of around 125.000) in
the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the Meuse river (Dutch:
Maas) , at the point where the Jeker River (French: Geer), a leftbank tributary, joins it.
The city literally gets its name from a bridge built by the Romans (a Roman settlement)
during the reign, of Augustus Caesar (Maastricht = Mosae Trajectum = crossing at the
Meuse). It is said to be the oldest city in The Netherlands- and is close to the Belgian
and German borders. The city’s culture is influenced by both of its national neighbours.
The city has gone through stages of development through the years, from settlements
to a religious centre, a garrison city and an early industrial city. Nowadays, it is known
as a city of especially culture (including local folklore) and education. Maastricht's rich
history shows from the actual fact that it has no less than 1677 national heritage sites
In recent years Maastricht has become well known, by way of the 'Maastricht Treaty',
as the birthplace of the European Union, European citizenship, and the single European
currency, the Euro. The city is popular , with tourists for shopping and recreation, and
has a large , growing international student population , at the University of Maastricht.
Maastricht is known for its picturesque squares, romantic streets, & historical buildings.
The touristinformation office is located in the Dinghuis, a 15th century former town hall
& law courts building, on the corner of Grote Staat & Kleine Staat . Main city sights incl
ude: City Fortifications , Binnenstad (an inner-city shopping district), & Vrijthof square.
The Dutch Golden Age (1600-1700):
’Mastery of Trade and the Seas’
In the 17th century (1600-1700) the Dutch, traditionally very able seafarers, shipbuild
ers and keen mapmakers began to trade with the Far East and as the century wore on
they gained an increasingly dominant position in world trade , a position previously occ
upied by the Portuguese & the Spanish. In 1602, the Dutch East India Company (VOC)
was founded. It was the first-ever multinational, corporation , financed by shares that
established the first modern stock exchange This company received a Dutch monopoly
on Asian trade and would keep this for two centuries. It became the world's largest co
mmercial enterprise of the 17th century. The Dutch dominant position, as a sea-faring
& world trading nation , was strengthened in 1640 with a monopoly for the Dutch East
India Company for an exclusive trade with the empire of Japan and thereby China/Asia.
The Dutch , also dominated trade, between European countries . ‘ The Low Countries ’
('The Netherlands') were favorably positioned , at a crossing , of east-west and north-
south trade routes , and connected to a large German 'hinterland' , through the 'Rhine
river'. Dutch traders , shipped wine, from France and Portugal , to the Baltic lands and
returned with grain , for countries, around the 'Mediterranean Sea' . By the 1680s , an
average of nearly 1000 Dutch ships entered the ' Baltic Sea ' each year, to trade with
markets of the fading 'Hanseatic League' The Dutch were able to gain control of much
of the trade , with the developing English colonies in North America; and after the end
of war with Spain, in 1648 , Dutch trade with that country also flourished . The Dutch
Golden Age was a period where the Dutch showed true Mastery of Trade and the Seas
Other main sights : ‘Onze Lieve Vrouweplein’ (a tree-lined square, with an abundance of
pavement cafes), the ‘Basilica of Our Lady’ (an 11th century church), the ‘St. Martinus’
(a church built in 1858) , ‘Markt’ (the Market Square), ‘The Town Hall’ (built in the 17th
century) & ‘Bassin’ (a restored early 19th-century inner harbour with restaurants/cafes)
Museums of note in Maastricht are: ‘Bonnefanten Museum’ (museum for old masters and
contemporary fine art in Limburg), ‘Museum aan het Vrijthof’ (the local history museum),
‘The Treasury of the Basilica of Saint Servatius’ (has religious artifacts from the 4–20th
centuries), and the ‘Natural History Museum’ (with its exciting and elaborate collections)
Maastricht is also a city of sports. In football , Maastricht is represented by ‘MVV Maas
tricht’ , currently playing in the Dutch 1st division , the 2nd league , after the Eredivisie
league. MVV's home is the Geusselt stadium. Maastricht is also home to the Maastricht
Wildcats , an American Football League team, and member of the AFBN governing body.
The city also hosts many events & festivals, among them: ‘The European Fine Art Fair’,
‘Amstel Gold Race’ (international cycling race) , ‘Carnival’ (a traditional 3-day festival in
the southern part of The Netherlands) , ‘KunstTour’ (an annual art festival), ‘Jazz Maas
tricht’ (a jazz festival) and ‘Inkom’ (opening for new students of Maastricht University).
Maastricht has an active nightlife and an abundance of bars , pubs, cafes and restaur-
ants. Starting at the Vrijthof square, there is much to explore , but also outside of the
citycentre every neighbourhood (over 40 in the city) has its own bars, a bit more quiet
& often preferred by the locals. There are discos & nightclubs as well for all the visitors
The Host venue for FSC March 2014 , is : the Theater aan het Vrijthof
(Vrijthof Theatre), a large, historic multifunctional building in Maastricht that functions
both as a concert hall and as a theatre. It is the main 'performance venue' in the city.
Situated on the 'Vrijthof Square' in the city center, the theatre - which is the home to
the Limburg Symphony Orchestra - schedules hundreds of performances each year, inc
luding classical , jazz, opera, world music, dance, theater, cabaret, musicals and more.
Theater aan het Vrijthof also organizes performances at the Sint Janskerk , Onze Lieve
Vrouwebasiliek , Keizerzaal and Cellebroederskapel . Most performances at the Theater
aan het Vrijthof take place in the Papyrus Hall , the large auditorium in the new part of
the building. There is also a smaller auditorium which caters for more intimate concerts
This prestigious theatre in the center of Maastricht was officially opened in March 1992
Our lovely Hosts this evening are:
André Rieu and Angela Schijf
André Rieu (full name Andre Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu) [born 1st October 1949, in Maast-
richt, The Netherlands] is a famous, & a little unconventional, Dutch violinist and cond-
uctor best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra (which perf-
orms with between 80 and 150 musicians) . André Rieu & the Johann Strauss Orchestra
have turned classical and waltz music into a 'worldwide concert touring music act' , as
successful as some of the biggest global pop and rock music acts. André Rieu has rec-
eived several national honours & awards , including 'The Order of the Netherlands Lion'.
Angela Schijf [born 7th August 1979] , is a Dutch actress, who, became famous acting
in the Dutch tv-soap series ‘Good times, Bad times’ (orig. ‘Goede tijden, slechte tijden’)
[1996-1999]. She has some experience from the musical theater , having taken part in
several stage productions. She has since played leading roles in several films, including
‘Daylight’ , ‘The Turncoat’ , and ‘Godforsaken’ to name a few . Since 2007 she has had
a leading role in the very popular Dutch tv police-series ‘Cops Maastricht’ (orig. ‘Flikken
Maastricht’), an exciting tv-series centered around a detective duo, set in Maastricht.
We are pleased to announce
The Opening Act
an exclusive International Guest Appearance
by the accomplished Swedish Folk-pop group
Sarek
performing one of their greatest songs
which took part in Melodifestivalen 2004:
’Älvorna’
Once again, welcome to the 61st edition of the Forum Song Contest.
Let the Show begin!
THE-
We are pleased to announce
The Interval Act
a Special National Artist Performance
by the accomplished Dutch pop-artist
Jan Smit
performing one of his best songs
taken from his 2013 CD-album
’Bleiben wie du bist’
We are pleased to announce
The Closing Act
an exclusive International Guest Appearance
by the Bosnian/Serbian singer collaboration
Dino Merlin & Zeljko Joksimovic
performing one of
their greatest hits:
’Supermen’
Thank You - and Good Night from Maastricht, The Netherlands!
7 day Evaluation Period
The Evaluation Period is 7 days from the start of the contest. If you find any songs that you
believe may breach the FSC Rules, please contact the FSC Mods via PM (off the boards).
Voting deadline
28th March, 23:59 CET
Send your votes by PM to: Mozz
Keep in mind that only votes submitted in the Private Forum, or sent to the vote collector,
after the Evaluation Period is finished - and within the voting deadline - will be counted.
Enjoy! - and Good Luck To All Entries!
Either that or I'm at the wrong one.
. 
I think indeed I deserve some payment for that series-promotion, don't you.. 
