Crossing Border Festival

This phenomenally popular festival bills itself as a celebration of spoken word but hosts all manner of performance art: from the straight-ahead pop of Crowded House's Neil Finn and Van Dyke Parks to the darker musical works of Morphine and Grandaddy to readings from the likes of Roddy Doyle Jello Biafra and Irvine Welsh These are only some of the past headliners of course: hundreds of up-and-coming artists perform at venues in and around the Leidseplein