Pommelien Thijs: Dutch pop’s rise to the Sportpaleis stage
Pommelien Thijs (23) announced that she will be playing her first ever solo Sportpaleis-show on April 23 and 24, 2026. The renowned venue has welcomed numerous huge names in the music industry. How did a young, Flemish woman end up on the same stage as those huge artists and what does that say about the place Dutch music holds in today’s pop industry?
With a capacity of 23.000 people, Sportpaleis is the biggest concert venue in the whole of Belgium. The arena was built in 1932, originally meant to become an indoor cycling track. Nowadays, the venue mostly hosts music events. In the past, Sportpaleis has hosted shows of some of the biggest names in the music industry, from the Rolling Stones in 1973 to Harry Styles in 2022 and Dua Lipa next year.
In 2026, Pommelien Thijs will add herself to that list. But first, the 23-year-old will play no less than nine sold-out shows in Brussels’ Ancienne Belgique (AB) at the beginning of next year. Those shows are a continuation of this year’s Entertainment Tour, for her debut album Per Ongeluk.
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The language of pop
The Belgian singer-songwriter sings exclusively in Dutch. Dutch artist MEAU does it too and Belgian band Clouseau has been doing it for decades as well. However, in general, one will mostly hear English music when turning on the radio here in Belgium. ‘Pop music grew up way faster in the United Kingdom and the United States than it did here’, explains music journalist Jasper Van Loy. That’s why artist used to think English was the language of pop.
‘In the fifties or the sixties, there was a shockwave of pop music that also conquered Europe. Pop during that time was mostly all in English and therefore, new artists chose to sing in English when aiming for an international career’, Van Loy says. Golden Earring, a Dutch rock band that is most known for their song Radar Love, is a perfect example of this phenomenon: while they were all Dutch, the men made music in English, hoping to make it across the globe.
Dutch as a statement
‘I have never had to ask an artist why they chose to sing in English. But with people who sing in Dutch on the other hand, people sometimes wonder’, Van Loy remarks. When artist make the decision to sing in Dutch, it is often seen as a statement, he adds.
Rebirth of a (not so) dusty language
Van Loy continues: ‘There once was a time where Dutch had a rather dusty reputation. During that time, Dutch was seen as the language of cabaret.’ A lot has changed since then, though: ‘Nowadays, the Dutch language is no longer a dusty or cabaret one. The public has decided it likes hearing Dutch pop, so there certainly is a place for Dutch songs in the modern pop landscape.’
‘It has become cool to make songs in Dutch and it is now known that one can make cool, relevant and hip things in Dutch’, Van Loy says.
While Dutch songs might not be able to make it everywhere in the world, there are about 24 million Dutch speaking people across the globe, so there are potential listeners enough for people who want to break through with Dutch lyrics.
Text: ©Elise-Charlotte Kindts
Image: ©Elise-Charlotte Kindts