Calendar / Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival
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Music & Culture Festivals in Willemstad
Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival
Sep 3–5, 2026ConfirmedCuracao North Sea Jazz Festival 2026
Run by Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival, with published dates and a real program.
Dates & details verified against: Official event site ↗
Why go
The Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival is the biggest music event in the Dutch Caribbean and the tropical cousin of the famous Rotterdam original. Held each year over three nights in early September at the World Trade Center in Piscadera Bay, just outside Willemstad, it has run since 2010 and books a marquee international line-up that stretches the word jazz to its limit: soul, funk, salsa, Latin, R&B and pop headliners share the bill with jazz names, and several stages run in parallel so the crowd drifts between them through the night. Past editions have drawn the kind of acts that would headline a European arena, and the festival has become a fixture that fills the island's hotels and pulls visitors from across the region and the Dutch mainland. The setting helps: warm September nights, an open-air and covered venue by the water, and a compact, walkable capital a few minutes away for the days between shows. For a traveller who wants a world-class concert weekend wrapped inside a Caribbean island break, with reef diving and old-town wandering on either side of it, this is the reason to time a visit to early September.
When it runs
Held every year over three nights in early September at the World Trade Center, Piscadera Bay, Willemstad. The 2026 edition runs 3 to 5 September; a further edition is expected in early September 2027.
- Sep 3–5, 2026ConfirmedCuracao North Sea Jazz Festival 2026
- Sep 2–4, 2027ExpectedCuracao North Sea Jazz Festival 2027
Dates read confirmed where the organizer has published them, and expected where we've projected the recurrence. Always verify with the organizer before booking.
What to expect
The festival runs over three consecutive nights in early September at the World Trade Center in Piscadera Bay near Willemstad, an open-air and covered multi-stage venue. Tickets are sold per night or as a full pass and the marquee acts sell out, so book tickets and accommodation well ahead. September is warm and outside the main hurricane risk for Curacao. The 2026 edition runs 3 to 5 September.
Getting there & around
The festival is held at the World Trade Center in Piscadera Bay, about 10 minutes by road from central Willemstad and 15 minutes from Curacao International Airport. Most visitors stay in or near Willemstad and take taxis to the venue, which has parking but fills up. Book accommodation early, as the festival weekend is one of the busiest of the year.
Where it happens
Willemstad, Curacao.
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