Di-rect winner of 2009 Promotieprijs

The local band Di-rect won the 2009 Den Haag Marketing Promotieprijs during an awards ceremony in Theater Diligentia on 16 February. The band won in the culture category and also received the Overall prize, the Eline statue. Lead singer Marcel Veenendaal exclaimed, 'We've just gotten back from recording a new CD in Liverpool. This is great.'

Di-rect receives the award statue from Dennis Weening and Frits Huffnagel.

Di-rect

You couldn't miss hearing about the local band Di-rect in the Netherlands in 2009. After the departure of lead singer Tim Akkerman, the other band members went on a search to find a new singer. The search was broadcasted on TV by the BNN programme ‘Who's Di-rect?’ and it generated national media attention for The Hague. Viewers enjoyed the search and at the same time embraced the new singer, Marcel Veenendaal.

Popularity

The popularity of the band was also reflected by the many votes in The Hague. The jury was also enthusiastic about the band and proclaimed it the Overall winner. The chairman of the jury and MC of the ceremony, Deputy Mayor Frits Huffnagel (City Marketing), emphasised: 'The boys of Di-rect have  boundless energy and enthusiasm and represent The Hague's pop scene. I wish them lots of luck with their new band composition and hope to be hearing much more from them!'.

Special performances

Other winners included The Hague Jazz (Public Events), the sand sculptures on the Buitenhof (Tourism / Economy) and the Swatch FIVB World Tour - The Hague Open Beach Volleyball (Sport). The Nederlands Dans Theater gave a special performance during the awards ceremony called ‘Shutter Shut’ by choreographer Lightfoot León.

The audience also enjoyed an acoustic performance by the rock chicks Rebelle. This local band is one of six bands from The Hague chosen to perform at the South by Southwest (or SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, in March. The project called 'Music City The Hague powered by Border Crossing' is an initiative of the Crossing Border festival in cooperation with the Municipality of The Hague.

Den Haag Marketing Promotieprijs

The Den Haag Marketing Promotieprijs is awarded annually by The Hague Convention & Visitors Bureau (Den Haag Marketing) to a person who or organisation which has made a significant positive contribution towards promoting the city over the past year. The prize was awarded this year for the 18th time. The winner of the 2008 Den Haag Marketing Promotieprijs was Kinderparkpop.

Den Haag Marketing is the umbrella organisation for marketing and promoting The Hague and its two beach resorts, Scheveningen and Kijkduin. The Haags Uitburo, the Tourist Information Offices (VVV), the Convention Bureau and Den Haag Topsport all fall under Den Haag Marketing.