Grolsch Zaal

“At PAARD, we guard the flame that burns in The Hague’s music scene—not by itself,” you read in PAARD’s mission and vision statement. Our new policy plan (2025-2028) also emphasizes strengthening our role in The Hague’s pop scene as one of our greatest ambitions. It is a promise to ourselves, local artists, and music fans: we guard the flame…

A fire needs fuel; a healthy funding mix that doesn’t rely solely on subsidies is essential for PAARD. Cultural and creative entrepreneurship is in our blood; look at GR8, PAARD in het PARK during the COVID-19 crisis, our business club, or check out our new rental website. In these financially uncertain times (“hello VAT increase”), our cherished partnership with Grolsch is more important than ever.

In 2024, we sat down with Grolsch to explore new collaboration opportunities. A bold but beautiful idea emerged: what if we renamed the Grote Zaal to the Grolsch Zaal? After much internal discussion, introspection, and debate, we decided to expand our partnership in this way, considering our grand ambitions.

This decision enables us to provide extra support to the local music scene from 2025 onward.

A glimpse of our plans for 2025: Each month, an artist from The Hague will perform in the Grolsch Zaal; we will host a series of local album releases in the Kleine Zaal. We will expand the Vinyl support program, taking acts form The Hague under our wing each year, and we’ll double the promotion costs for local artists performing with us, increasing their visibility on the streets.

Additionally, from 2025, PAARD will fund Powered by PAARD & POPRADAR, allowing The Hague’s organizers and artists to apply for funding for local events easily. As the cherry on top, the first edition of the Hague Pop Awards will be organized in December 2025, as the closing event of the Haagse Popweek (by Popradar), in the… Grolsch Zaal. The circle is complete!