FAQ – ENG

All general admission tickets are 3-day passe-partouts and give access to all participating venues, subject to capacity limits. For some events an additional ticket is needed, like Bands on a Boat, or Dine Like a Star, but you always also need a general admission ticket. On the ticket page we only list the lowest-priced available options. 

If you purchase a group ticket you’ll receive a PDF file with 6 separate tickets, but you only pay for 5! Send all your friends their own ticket and everyone can come and go as they please.

We fully understand that some of you are also struggling to make ends meet and that a Left of the Dial ticket is already quite the expense. If so, this is clearly not for you, but, if you happen to have a little more to spend, buying a donation ticket is a perfect way to help us support Ticketbank, an online platform which offers free festival tickets to people using the services of our local food bank.

You simply buy one or more donation tickets and for every 10 donation tickets sold, we’ll put in the extra cash and donate a Left of the Dial ticket to Ticketbank.

Sharing is Caring is a service to pass on your wristband to someone else if you can’t stay for all 3 festival days.

If you’re leaving early on Thursday or Friday and you’re not planning to come back to the festival, you report to the ticket desk at Eendrachtsplein. If you’re leaving later and the ticket desk is already closed, please go to the Merch Minimart. You hand in your wristband and choose from one of these two options:

Option #1
Just leave the name of the person you’ll be passing the ticket onto at the ticket desk or Merch Minimart while handing in your wristband. The only thing that person has to do, is show up to the ticket desk (not the Merch Minimart!) the next day, show a valid ID and a fresh wristband is waiting for them.

Option #2
Unable to stay all 3 Left of the Dial days, but you don’t have anyone to pass on your wristband to? Please consider handing in your wristband anyway, so we can pass it on to a less fortunate music lover with the help of the wonderful organisation Ticketbank.

If you absolutely don’t want to miss your favourite band, try to get your hands on a priority pass. At each show 4 spots are reserved for holders of a priority pass for that specific concert. They can simply wave their pass and pass by the queue.

The priority passes are issued at the start of all festival days at the ticket desk at Eendrachtsplein. Note that you can choose only one band, and receive one pass per time. This means you still could get multiple passes, but you’ll have to re-queue again each time after receiving one. You can only get a priority pass on the day of the show. And it goes without saying that the priority passes are only valid in combination with a wristband… 

Don’t worry, you’re not the first with that problem! Just send us an email and we will help you as soon as humanly possible.

Unfortunately, we can’t refund tickets, or resell it for you, but we strongly recommend putting your ticket on Ticketswap. There are no guarantees, but chances are you get rid of that ticket fast if you ask for a fair price.

The festival takes place at various venues in the centre of Rotterdam. If you’re looking for a hotel, or if you’re planning your trip, it’s best to take Eendrachtsplein as a central point. This is where the ticket desk is located (next to the infamous Butt Plug Gnome) and where you’ll have to pick up your wristband.

On Thursday the festival starts at 7pm, on Friday and Saturday at 4pm. The venues will open their doors 15 minutes prior to the first show of the day.

On Friday and Saturday there will be several activities during the day as well, including Bands on a Boat, lots of Extra Extras and The Official Unofficial. The gigs will end no later that 1am, at the afterparties you can dance the night away until 4am.

You can exchange your ticket for a wristband at the service desk at Eendrachtsplein:
Thursday 17.00 – 22.00h
Friday 15.00 – 21.00h
Saturday 15.00 – 21.00h

Usually, the longest queue is Thursday between 18.00 and 19.00h, so if there’s an early show you definitely don’t want miss, come early!

You’ll first stop we’ll be the ticket desk to pick up your wristband. The ticket desk is about a 10-minute walk from Rotterdam Central Station. You can also catch tram line 4 which stops at Eendrachtsplein.

We do not recommend coming to Rotterdam by car. The city is busy and parking is expensive. Do you really absolutely need to travel by car? Look here for the different parking options.parkeeropties. 

Early October, we’ll release a printable PDF with the full schedule. But… it’s even easier to download the Left of the Dial app where you’ll find band bios, the latest news, and all the stage times.

TThere are no age restrictions for the shows although kids under 14 must be accompanied by an adult, for the afterparties you must be 18 years or older..

If for whatever reason, you expect you might have any accessibility problems, please check this page first. Still worried about obstacles you might run into while visiting Left of the Dial? Mail us and we’ll do whatever we can to help you!

If you need a place to stay in Rotterdam, please check our get-a-room-page.

Food:
One of the advantages of being located right in the city centre of Rotterdam, is that there are hundreds of restaurants all within walking distance, so you can basically eat any type of food imaginable. But, if you really want the full Left of the Dial experience, have dinner with us and the artists! Check out Dine Like A Star for more information.

Drinks:
Obviously, each venue has a bar. With the exception of Paradijskerk, but this church is located next to Rotown, so you can order your drink there. All venues accept PIN payments, most (but not all) also accept cash. We don’t run these venues and each has its own prices and payment methods. The one thing you should know is that it’s not allowed to take glass/plastic cups outside. Drink up first, then hit the streets!

Almost anything goes at Left of the Dial, but we’re strict about a few things…

• Treat each other with respect. Racist, fascist, nationalist, sexist and/or generally annoying behaviour is not allowed;
• The organisation reserves the right to deny anyone access to the festival at any time, especially if you do not comply with the first rule. In case of doubt or discussion, the festival organisation or the person responsible is always right;
• Always follow the directions of the staff;
• Hard drugs, weapons, pets, didgeridoos and fireworks are not allowed, you’re not allowed to bring your own drinks (don’t worry, we have plenty to drink);
• By purchasing a ticket or entering the festival, you automatically agree to the Terms and conditions .

Also, money and possessions are replaceable, your body is not. That is why we would like to point out two more things:

• Are you being harassed or do you feel unsafe? Wherever you are, contact the staff at site immediately. Either a bartender, a bouncer, or one of our volunteers, it doesn’t matter, everyone is ready to help you;
• Protect your ears. We sell earplugs, use them. You also want to enjoy concerts in the future!

No one, all you have to do is fill in an application form. We receive over 1,000 applications a year, so please read the instructions carefully, that will make our lives so much easier.
(And yes, we purposely haven’t linked to the application form, because if you can’t find it on our website, chances are you are not ready to find your way to Rotterdam either…)

Send us an email and give us the details such as who you work for, etc. and we’ll see what we can do for you!

All ticket buyers will receive an email prior to the festival with the emergency contact info We’re not posting it here to prevent misuse, so check your email if you need us urgently during the festival.

Please, don’t send us a DM via social media! Over the Left of the Dial weekend, we get so many notifications about tags and the like that we could easily miss your message. If it’s not an emergency, but you have a non-urgent question, please email us at info@leftofthedial.nl  We’ll also keep an eye on that inbox even if the festival is in full swing.

If you remember approximately where you lost the item, the simplest solution is to call the nearest venue. If you lost the item somewhere random, chances are slim we will be able to help you. Left of the Dial takes place in numerous venues (that we don’t run ourselves), and it’s very unlikely that someone who finds something on the street will bring it to our office.

General: info@leftofthedial.nl
Tickets: tickets@leftofthedial.nl

Left of the Dial Festival
Nieuwe Binnenweg 19
3014 GB Rotterdam
The Netherlands
+31(0)10 – 436 26 42

We are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers! Please check back by the end of the summer to apply.

Of course you may take as many photos as you want with your phone and if you share them on social media, please tag us! For professional cameras you need a photo pass. We have a very limited number of photo passes available, because we don’t want to see more photographers than festivalgoers front row. Please mail to info@leftofthedial.nl for more information.

Closer to the festival we will publish a festival map on this website and in the festival app.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any facilities to store your luggage at the festival as we need every square inch to accommodate our bands and their gear. If you need to store your luggage, we recommend doing so at Central Station.

Left of the Dial cares about a safe and healthy planet and tries to handle accordingly. That’s not always easy for a festival; concerts consume a lot of power and artists sometimes have no choice but to take the plane. Nevertheless, we try to contribute to a sustainable society in all kinds of ways:

• We love animals just as much as we love music, so all our catering, both for the artists and for the employees, is vegan.
• Our merchandise service ensures that bands are never left with unsold shirts; everything is always custom made. Visitors are also allowed to bring their own clothing items to have them printed, which further limits the production of new shirts.
• Left of the Dial works with many different venues and luckily they are also on board to produce a festival that is as sustainable as possible. Where possible, we work with reusable water bottles for the artists and sustainable plastic glasses for the visitors.
• We try to use as little paper as possible, therefor we do not have printed programme booklets or set times. All info you need can be found on our website or in our TMSQR app.
• The most taxing part of any festival is also the most unavoidable: the journeys of the artists. No music festival without artists, and as much as we would like to, not all artists are a bike distance away. Where possible we try to avoid air travel and we accommodate the artists in sustainable hotels. Furthermore, we try to let the artists get as much out of their journey as the can: we never demand exclusivity. Some festivals bring over bands only for that specific festival, Left of the Dial encourages foreign bands to do more shows in our country. The idea is simple: if you make the trip to the Netherlands, reduce your carbon footprint by immediately playing in several places, instead of making a separate tour of it. A big advantage is that even more people can enjoy that music and ultimately that’s the main goal of course!

No problem, you can always get in touch with us for some answers.
To help you as quickly as possible, please send general questions to info@leftofthedial.nl.
Do you have a question about your ticket? Mail to tickets@leftofthedial.nl