Utrecht, 25 June 2025 - On Saturday 30 August 2025, the very first 'The Flight To Lowlands Paradise' festival will return to its birthplace: Royal Jaarbeurs. With the festival The Flight Revisited, Jaarbeurs will relive the legendary 1967 edition, when the very first The Flight to Lowlands Paradise took place here. With performances by, among others, The Hague-based psychedelic rock band Supersister, who attended the second edition in 1968, the festival will revive the free spirit of the time. The occasion is the book launch of From Flight to Lowlands by author Patrick Bakkenes. Around the festival, there will be an exhibition in TivoliVredenburg and a book launch at the Kargadoor on this particular origin of Dutch festival culture.
The Flight Revisited: a tribute to the past and future of ‘The Flight To Lowlands Paradise’
The Flight Revisited festival offers a varied programme of music, poetry, art and performance, featuring acts including Supersister, Doctor Velvet and The Caverns. Just as with the original edition in 1967, it’s not just about the music, but also about the overall experience. Visitors can look forward to vintage footage and an atmosphere reminiscent of the 1960s, presented in a contemporary style. Jeroen van Hooff, CEO of Koninklijke Jaarbeurs: “For us,The Flight Revisited is more than just a festival. It is a tribute to the ideals of creativity, freedom and cultural innovation that are still very much part of our DNA. The fact that ‘The Flight To Lowlands Paradise’ began here in 1967 is something to be proud of. With this event, we’re bringing that history back into the spotlight at the very place where it all began.”
Book launch on the first ‘The Flight To Lowlands Paradise’ at Jaarbeurs
The inspiration for the ‘The Flight Revisited’ festival and the exhibition is the book *From Flight to Lowlands* by author Patrick Bakkenes, which is due to be published on 15 August 2025. In this book, Bakkenes delves into the story of the very first two ‘Flight to Lowlands Paradise’ festivals, which took place at Jaarbeurs in 1967 and 1968. Organised by the anarchist Provo movement Volte, these festivals marked the very beginnings of what would later grow into today’s Lowlands. Drawing on dozens of interviews, photographs and unique archive material, the book brings to life the emergence of a new generation of music lovers, free thinkers and cultural innovators, and their lasting influence on Dutch festival culture.
Festival, book and exhibition: a summer steeped in history
Running alongside The Flight Revisited festival and the book launch, the exhibition ‘From Flight to Lowlands’ will take place at TivoliVredenburg from Friday 22 August to Sunday 14 September 2025. This exhibition tells the story of how, in 1967 and 1968, a group of anarchist youths from Utrecht laid the foundations for Dutch festival culture – with the support of the local council – in the heart of a still staid and bourgeois Utrecht. Visitors will discover who performed, how the festival came about and why it ceased to exist after just two editions. During the exhibition, there will be various public activities, including guided tours led by Patrick Bakkenes on Saturday 23 August and during the Open Monument Days on 13 and 14 September. The exhibition opens on Friday 22 August, featuring, amongst other things, a performance by The Op-Sound, who also performed at the very first Flight in 1967.
