Rotterdam

Topographic map image of Rotterdam (city), as of September 2014

Rotterdam is divided into a northern and a southern part by the river Nieuwe Maas, connected by (from west to east): the Beneluxtunnel; the Maastunnel; the Erasmusbrug; a subway tunnel; the Willemsspoortunnel ('Willems railway tunnel'); the Willemsbrug ('Willems Bridge') together with the Koninginnebrug ('Queen's Bridge'); and the Van Brienenoordbrug ('Van Brienenoord Bridge'). The former railway lift bridge De Hef ('the Lift') is preserved as a Rijksmonument (national heritage site) in lifted position between the Noordereiland ('North Island') and the south of Rotterdam.

The city centre is located on the northern bank of the Nieuwe Maas, although recent urban development has extended the centre to parts of southern Rotterdam known as Kop van Zuid ('the Head of South', i.e. the northern part of southern Rotterdam). From its inland core, Rotterdam reaches the North Sea by a swathe of predominantly harbour area.

Built mostly behind dikes, large parts of the Rotterdam are below sea level. For instance, the Prins Alexander Polder in the northeast of Rotterdam extends 6 metres (20 ft) below sea level, or rather below Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP) or 'Amsterdam Ordnance Datum'. The lowest point in the Netherlands (6.76 metres (22.2 ft) below NAP) is situated just to the east of Rotterdam, in the municipality of Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel.

Satellite image of Rotterdam and its port

The Rotte river no longer joins the Nieuwe Maas directly. Since the early 1980s, when the construction of Rotterdam's second subway line interfered with the Rotte's course, its waters have been pumped through a pipe into the Nieuwe Maas via the Boerengat.

The 24 municipalities of the Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area

Between the summers of 2003 and 2008, an artificial beach was created at the Boompjeskade along the Nieuwe Maas, between the Erasmus Bridge and the Willems Bridge. Swimming was not possible, digging pits was limited to the height of the layer of sand, about 50 cm (20 in). Alternatively, people go to the beach of Hook of Holland (which is a Rotterdam district) or one of the beaches in Zeeland: Renesse or the Zuid Hollandse Eilanden: Ouddorp, Oostvoorne.

Rotterdam forms the centre of the Rijnmond conurbation, bordering the conurbation surrounding The Hague to the north-west. The two conurbations are close enough to be a single conurbation. They share the Rotterdam The Hague Airport and a light rail system called RandstadRail. Consideration is being given to creating an official Metropolitan region Rotterdam The Hague (Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag), which would have a combined population approaching 2.5 million.

On its turn, the Rijnmond conurbation is part of the southern wing (the Zuidvleugel) of the Randstad, which is one of the most important economic and densely populated areas in the north-west of Europe. Having a population of 7.1 million, the Randstad is the sixth-largest urban area in Europe (after Moscow, London, Paris, Istanbul, and the Rhein-Ruhr Area). The Zuidvleugel, situated in the province of South Holland, has a population of around 3 million.

City of Rotterdam population by country of origin (2018)[30]
Country/Territory	Population
Netherlands	313,861 (46.1%)
Suriname	52,620 (8.2%)
Turkey	47,712 (7.5%)
Morocco	44,164 (6.9%)
Dutch Caribbean	24,836 (3.9%)
Cape Verde	15,411 (2.4%)
Indonesia	11,952 (1.9%)
Poland	9,714 (1.5%)
Germany	9,565 (1.5%)
Ex-Yugoslavia	9,369 (1.5%)
Mainland China	7,218 (1.1%)
Other	92,290 (14.5%)

Rotterdam is diverse, with the demographics differing by neighbourhood. The city centre has a disproportionately high number of single people when compared to other cities, with 70% of the population between the ages of 20 and 40 identifying as single.[31] Those with higher education and higher income live disproportionately in the city centre, as do foreign-born citizens. 54% of city centre residents are foreign-born, compared to 45% in other parts of the city, while in the city centre 70% of businesses are run by foreign-born people. Nonetheless, this is not a comment on income, as 80% of homes are rented in the city centre.[32]

The municipal council consists of 45 members, the largest party is Livable Rotterdam. The municipal executive consists of mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb and nine elderman, belonging to four parties.

Gebouw Delftse Poort, one of the tallest office buildings in the Netherlands

Rotterdam has always been one of the main centres of the shipping industry in the Netherlands. From the Rotterdam Chamber of the VOC, the world's first multinational, established in 1602, to the merchant shipping leader Royal Nedlloyd established in 1970, with its corporate headquarters located in the landmark building the 'Willemswerf' in 1988.[39] In 1997, Nedlloyd merged with the British shipping industry leader P&O forming the third largest merchant shipping company in the world. The Anglo-Dutch P&O Nedlloyd was bought by the Danish giant corporation 'AP Moller Maersk' in 2005 and its Dutch operations are still headquartered in the 'Willemswerf'. Nowadays, well-known companies with headquarters in Rotterdam are consumer goods company Unilever (since 2020 London), asset management firm Robeco, energy company Eneco, dredging company Van Oord, oil company Royal Dutch Shell (since 2021 London), terminal operator Vopak, commodity trading company Vitol and architecture firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

It is also home to the regional headquarters of chemical company LyondellBasell, commodities trading company Glencore, pharmaceutical company Pfizer, logistics companies Stolt-Nielsen, electrical equipment company ABB and consumer goods company Procter & Gamble. Furthermore, Rotterdam has the Dutch headquarters of Allianz, Maersk, Petrobras, Samskip, Louis Dreyfus Group, Aon and MP Objects. The City of Rotterdam makes use of the services of semi-government companies Roteb (to take care of sanitation, waste management and assorted services) and the Port of Rotterdam Authority (to maintain the Port of Rotterdam). Both these companies were once municipal bodies; now they are autonomous entities, owned by the city.

Unmanned vehicles handle containers at Europe Container Terminals (ECT), the largest container terminal operator in Europe.

The Waalhaven by night

Being the largest port and one of the largest cities of the country, Rotterdam attracts many people seeking jobs, especially in the cheap labour segment. The city's unemployment rate is 12%, almost twice the national average.[40] Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, with the rivers Maas and Rhine providing excellent access to the hinterland upstream reaching to Basel, Switzerland and into France. In 2004 Shanghai took over as the world's busiest container port. In 2006, Rotterdam was the world's seventh largest container port in terms of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) handled.[41] The port's main activities are petrochemical industries and general cargo handling and transshipment. The harbour functions as an important transit point for bulk materials between the European continent and overseas. From Rotterdam, goods are transported by ship, river barge, train or road. In 2007, the Betuweroute, a new fast freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany, was completed.

Well-known streets in Rotterdam are the Lijnbaan (the first set of pedestrian streets of the country, opened in 1953), the Hoogstraat, the Coolsingel with the city hall, which was renovated between 2018 and 2021 giving cyclists and pedestrians more space, car traffic was reduced from 4 lanes (2 in each direction) to 2 lanes (1 in each direction). Another mainstreet is the Weena, which runs from the Central Station to the Hofplein (square). A modern shopping venue is the Beurstraverse ("Stock Exchange Traverse"), better known by its informal name 'Koopgoot' ('Buying/Shopping Gutter', after its subterranean position), which crosses the Coolsingel below street level). The Kruiskade is a more upscale shopping street, with retailers like Michael Kors, 7 For All Mankind, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger and the Dutch well-known men's clothier Oger. Another upscale shopping venue is a flagship store of department store De Bijenkorf. Located a little more to the east is the Markthal, with lots of small retailers inside. This hall is also one of Rotterdam's famous architectural landmarks. The main shopping venue in the south of Rotterdam is Zuidplein, which lies close to Rotterdam Ahoy, an accommodation centre for shows, exhibitions, sporting events, concerts and congresses. Another prominent shopping centre called Alexandrium lies in the east of Rotterdam. It includes a large kitchen and furniture centre.

Bronze statue of Erasmus created by Hendrick de Keyser in 1622

Rotterdam has one major university, the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), named after one of the city's famous former inhabitants, Desiderius Erasmus. The Woudestein campus houses (among others) Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. In Financial Times' 2005 rankings it placed 29th globally and 7th in Europe. In the 2009 rankings of Masters of Management, the school reached first place with the CEMS Master in Management and the tenth place with its RSM Master in Management.[42] The university is also home to Europe's largest student association, STAR Study Association Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the world's largest student association, AIESEC, has its international office in the city.

The Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam's main art school, which is part of the Hogeschool Rotterdam. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious art schools in the Netherlands and the number 1 in Advertising and Copywriting. Part of the Willem de Kooning Academy is the Piet Zwart Institute for postgraduate studies and research in Fine Art, Media Design and Retail Design. The Piet Zwart Institute boasts a selective roster of emerging international artists.

The Hoboken campus of EUR houses the Dijkzigt (general) hospital, the Sophia Hospital (for children), Daniel den Hoed clinic (cancer institute) and the medical department of the university. They are known collectively as the Erasmus Medical Center. This center is ranked third in Europe by CSIC[43] as a hospital, and is also ranked within top 50 universities of the world in the field of medicine (clinical, pre-clinical & health, 2017).[44]

Three Hogescholen (Universities of applied sciences) exist in Rotterdam. These schools award their students a professional Bachelor's degree and postgraduate or Master's degree. The three Hogescholen are Hogeschool Rotterdam, Hogeschool Inholland and Codarts University for the Arts (Codarts hogeschool voor de kunsten), a vocational university that teaches music, dance and circus.

As there are many international and American schools scattered across Europe such as ASH (American International School of the Hague) Rotterdam also has its own international school by the name NAISR (Nord Anglia International School Rotterdam). At NAISR children receive a multicultural education in a culturally diverse community and it offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme.

Unique to the city is the Shipping & Transport College which offers masters, bachelors and vocational diplomas on all levels.

Rotterdam waterfront, with spotlights shining into the air to commemorate the Rotterdam Blitz

Alongside Porto, Rotterdam was European Capital of Culture in 2001. The city has its own orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, with its well-regarded young music director Lahav Shani which plays at a large congress and concert building called De Doelen. There are several theatres and cinemas, including Cinerama.[45] The Ahoy complex in the south of the city is used for pop concerts, exhibitions, tennis tournaments and other activities. A major zoo called Diergaarde Blijdorp is situated on the northwest side of Rotterdam, complete with a walkthrough sea aquarium called the Oceanium.

Rotterdam features some urban architecture projects, nightlife, and many summer festivals celebrating the city's multicultural population and identity, such as the Caribbean-inspired "Summer Carnival", the Dance Parade, Rotterdam 666, the Metropolis pop festival and the World Port Days. In the years 2005–2011 the city struggled with venues for pop music. Many of the venues suffered severe financial problems. This resulted in the disappearance of the major music venues Nighttown and WATT and smaller stages such as Waterfront, Exit, and Heidegger. The city has a few venues for pop music like Rotown, Poortgebouw and Annabel. The venue WORM focuses on experimental music and related subcultural music.

There are also the International Film Festival in January, the Poetry International Festival in June, the North Sea Jazz Festival in July, the Valery Gergiev Festival in September, September in Rotterdam and the World of the Witte de With. In June 1970, The Kralingen Music Festival (which featured Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, Canned Heat, It's a Beautiful Day, and Santana) was held and filmed in Rotterdam.

There is a healthy competition with Amsterdam, which is often viewed as the cultural capital of the Netherlands. This rivalry is most common amongst the city's football supporters, Feyenoord (Rotterdam) and Ajax (Amsterdam). There is a saying: "Amsterdam to party, Den Haag (The Hague) to live, Rotterdam to work". Another one, more popular by Rotterdammers, is "Money is earned in Rotterdam, distributed in The Hague and spent in Amsterdam".[46] Another saying that reflects both the rivalry between Rotterdam and Amsterdam is "Amsterdam has it, Rotterdam doesn't need it". Bright magazine editor Erwin van der Zande notes that this phrase is on T-shirts in Rotterdam.[47]

In terms of alternative culture, Rotterdam had from the 1960s until the 2000s a thriving squatters movement which as well as housing thousands of people, occupied venues, social centres and so on.[48] From this movement came clubs like Boogjes, Eksit, Nighttown, Vlerk and Waterfront. The Poortgebouw was squatted in the 1980s and quickly legalised.

Rotterdam is also the home of Gabber, a type of hardcore electronic music popular in the mid-1990s, with hard beats and samples. Groups like Neophyte and Rotterdam Terror Corps (RTC) started in Rotterdam, playing at clubs like Parkzicht.

The main cultural organisations in Amsterdam, such as the Concertgebouw and Holland Festival, have joint forces with similar organisations in Rotterdam, via A'R'dam. In 2007 these organisations published plans for co-operation.[49] One of the goals is to strengthen the international position of culture and art in the Netherlands in the international context.

City decor for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

On 30 August 2019, it was announced by the European Broadcasting Union and Dutch television broadcasters AVROTROS, NOS and NPO, that Rotterdam would host the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, following the Dutch victory at the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel with the song "Arcade", performed by Duncan Laurence.[50] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the 2020 contest was cancelled, and Rotterdam was later retained as host of the 2021 contest.[51][52] The contest took place at the Rotterdam Ahoy, with the semi-finals taking place on 18 and 20 May 2021, and the final taking place on 22 May 2021.[53] This was the first time that Rotterdam hosted the contest, and the first time that the Netherlands hosted the contest since 1980, when it was held in The Hague.

Green parts of Rotterdam

Windmill Kralingse Bos

A number of well-known parks in Rotterdam are:

• The Park (70 acres) on the Maas south of the Westzeedijk at the Euromast. The eastern half was constructed between 1852 and 1863 to a design by the firm Jan David Zocher. The western part was added in 1866 with some modifications. National Heritage site since 2011.
• Park Schoonoord (3 acres) is located in the Scheepvaartkwartier and was designed in its current form in 1860 by Jan David Zocher.
• The Kralingse Bos (500 acres) with the Kralingse Plas (250 acres) is located in the Kralingen district and has been based on a design by Marinus Jan Granpré Molière since 1928. In 1953 the Kralingse Bos is finally officially opened.
• The Vroesenpark in the district Rotterdam-Noord was laid out from 1929 to a plan by city architect W.G. Witteveen.
• The Zuiderpark (780 acres) is located in the district of Charlois. The park was laid out as a utility park from 1952 and not as an ornamental park.

Since 28 May 1994, Rotterdam has had the phenomenon Opzoomeren. 15% of Rotterdam residents (about 100,000 residents) say they participate in this phenomenon.[58] Rotterdam has about 1,800 Opzoomerstreets, which is mainly reflected in the construction of facade gardens.

Dakpark Rotterdam

The municipality of Rotterdam is encouraging the construction of green roofs. There is an attractive subsidy for roof owners and the city has now provided a number of municipal buildings with a green roof. As of January 1, 2020, the water storage capacity requirement has been increased to 30 liters of water storage capacity per square metre. This reduces the burden on the sewer system during heavy rainfall and reduces the risk of flooding on the street.[59]

• The city's largest green roof is located on top of the Groothandelsgebouw next to Central Station.
• The Dakakker is the largest roof farm in Europe on top of the Schieblok.
• The Dakpark is an elongated, narrow park in the district Bospolder-Tussendijken in Rotterdam-West. It has been built at a height of about nine meters, is about 85 meters wide and extends for about a kilometer from Hudson Square to near Marconi Square.[60]
• The municipality of Rotterdam will provide the flat roof of the conference and concert building De Doelen with greenery and water storage. The design for the roof was made by Kraijvanger Architects.[61]

The Wilhelmina pier at the Kop van Zuid in the distance. A part of Rotterdam with many skyscrapers and high-rises. On the left the Erasmus Bridge can be seen.

Rotterdam has become world famous because of its modern and groundbreaking architecture. Throughout the years the city has been nicknamed Manhattan at the Meuse[62][63][64][65][66][67] and The architectural capital of the Netherlands[68][69][70] both for its skyline and because it is home to internationally leading architectural firms involved in the design of famous buildings and bridges in other big cities. Examples include OMA (Rem Koolhaas), MVRDV, Neutelings & Riedijk and Erick van Egeraat.[71][72] It has the reputation in being a platform for architectural development and education through the NAi (Netherlands Architecture Institute), which is open to the public and has a variety of exhibitions on architecture and urban planning issues and prior the Berlage Institute, a postgraduate laboratory of architecture. The city has 38 skyscrapers and 352 high-rises and has many skyscrapers planned or under construction.[73][74] The top 5 of highest buildings in the Netherlands consists entirely of buildings in Rotterdam.[75] It is home to the tallest building in the Netherlands, the Maastoren with a height of 165 meters. In 2021, the Zalmhaven Tower is completed with a height of 215 meters, and is now the new tallest building in the Netherlands.

History

In 1898, the 45-metre (148-foot) high-rise office building the White House (in Dutch Witte Huis) was completed, at that time the tallest office building in Europe. In the first decades of the 20th century, some influential architecture in the modern style was built in Rotterdam. Notable are the Van Nelle fabriek (1929) a monument of modern factory design by Brinkman en Van der Vlugt, the Jugendstil clubhouse of the Royal Maas Yacht Club designed by Hooijkaas jr. en Brinkman (1909), and Feyenoord's football stadium De Kuip (1936) also by Brinkman en Van der Vlugt. The architect J. J. P. Oud was a famous Rotterdammer in those days. The Van Nelle Factory obtained the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. During the early stages of World War II the centre of Rotterdam was bombed by the German Luftwaffe, destroying many of the older buildings in the centre of the city. After an initial crisis re-construction, the centre of Rotterdam has become the site of the ambitious new architecture.

The Cube Houses, popularly known as the Blaak-forest in 2014

The Markthal at night as seen from the Binnenrotte, Rotterdam center.

The Euromast in 2005.

Rotterdam is also famous for its Lijnbaan 1952 by architects Broek en Bakema, Peperklip by architect Carel Weeber, Kubuswoningen or cube houses designed by architect Piet Blom 1984.

The newest landmark in Rotterdam is the Markthal, designed by architect firm MVRDV. In addition to that, there are many international well-known architects based in Rotterdam like O.M.A (Rem Koolhaas), Neutelings & Riedijk and Erick van Egeraat to name a few. Two architectural landmarks are located in the Lloydkwartier: the STC college building and the Schiecentrale 4b. The construction of the Depot of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen was started in 2003 and was officially opened by king Willem-Alexander on 5 November 2021. It is the world's first fully accessible art depot.[76]

Rotterdam also houses several of the tallest structures in the Netherlands.

• The Erasmusbrug (1996) is a 790-meter (2,600 ft) cable-stayed bridge linking the north and south of Rotterdam. It is held up by a 138 metres (453 ft) tall pylon with a characteristic bend, earning the bridge its nickname 'De Zwaan' ('the Swan').
• Rotterdam has the tallest residential building in the Netherlands: the De Zalmhaven Tower (215 metres (705.4 ft)).
• Rotterdam is also home to the tallest office building 'Maastoren' (164.75 m or 540.5 ft) which houses Deloitte. This office tower surpassed the 'Delftse Poort' (160 m or 520 ft) which houses Nationale-Nederlanden insurance company, part of ING Group as tallest office tower in 2009.[77][78]
• The skyline of Rotterdam also houses the 185 metres (607 ft) tall Euromast, which is a major tourist attraction. It was built in 1960, initially reaching a height of 101 metres (331 ft); in 1970, the Euromast was extended by 85 metres (279 ft).

Rotterdam has a reputation in being a platform for architectural development and education through the Berlage Institute, a postgraduate laboratory of architecture, and the NAi (Netherlands Architecture Institute), which is open to the public and has a variety of exhibitions on architecture and urban planning issues.

Over 30 new highrise projects are being developed. A Guardian journalist wrote in 2013 that "All this is the consequence of the city suffering a bombardment of two things: bombs and architects."[26]

The former headquarters of the Holland America Line next to modern residential architecture in 2010

Erasmus Bridge in 2011

Rotterdam calls itself Sportstad (City of Sports). The city annually organises several world-renowned sporting events. Some examples are the Rotterdam Marathon, the World Port Tournament, and the Rotterdam World Tennis Tournament. Rotterdam also organises one race of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship and the car racing event Monaco aan de Maas (Monaco at the Meuse).

The city is also the home of many sports clubs and some historic and iconic athletes.

Football

Robin van Persie began his career with SBV Excelsior and broke through in Feyenoord.

De Kuip, Feyenoord home stadium.

Rotterdam is the home of three professional football clubs, being first tier clubs Feyenoord, Sparta and Excelsior.

Feyenoord, founded in 1908 and the dominant of the three professional clubs, has won fifteen national titles since the introduction of professional football in the Netherlands. It won the Champions league as the first Dutch club in 1970 and won the World Cup for club teams in the same year. In 1974, they were the first Dutch club to win the UEFA Cup and in 2002, Feyenoord won the UEFA Cup again. In 2008, the year of their 100-year-anniversary, Feyenoord won the KNVB-cup.

Seating 51,480, its 1937 stadium, called Stadion Feijenoord but popularly known as De Kuip ('the Tub'), is the second-largest in the country, after the Amsterdam Arena. De Kuip, located in the southeast of the city, has hosted many international football games, including the final of Euro 2000 and has been awarded a FIFA 5 star ranking. There are concrete plans to build a new stadium with a capacity of at least 63,000 seats.

Sparta, founded in 1888 and situated in the northwest of Rotterdam, won the national title six times; Excelsior (founded 1902), in the northeast, has never won any.

Rotterdam also has three fourth tier clubs, SC Feijenoord (Feyenoord Amateurs), PVV DOTO and TOGR. Rotterdam is and has been the home to many great football players and coaches, among whom:

• Bert van Marwijk
• Coen Moulijn
• Dirk Kuyt
• Ernst Happel
• Faas Wilkes
• Giovanni van Bronckhorst
• Georginio Wijnaldum
• Henrik Larsson
• Danny Blind
• John de Wolf
• Jon Dahl Tomasson
• Leo Beenhakker
• Louis van Gaal
• Ove Kindvall
• Kevin Strootman
• Memphis Depay
• Pierre van Hooijdonk
• Pim Doesburg
• Puck van Heel
• Rinus Israël
• Robin van Persie
• Ronald Koeman
• Roy Makaay
• Ruud Gullit
• Sonny Silooy
• Willem van Hanegem
• Wim Jansen
• Winston Bogarde
• Włodzimierz Smolarek

Marathon

Runners during the marathon in Rotterdam

Rotterdam has its own annual international marathon, which offers one of the fastest courses in the world. From 1985 until 1998, the world record was set in Rotterdam, first by Carlos Lopes and later in 1988 by Belayneh Densamo.

In 1998, the world record for women was set by Tegla Loroupe, in a time of 2:20.47. Loroupe won the Rotterdam Marathon three consecutive times, from 1997 to 1999.

The track record for men is held by Bashir Abdi, who ran a time of 2:03.36 in 2021. The female record was set in 2012 when Tiki Gelana finished the race in 2:18.58. Gelana went on to become the 2012 Olympic champion in London, a few months later.

The marathon starts and ends on the Coolsingel in the heart of Rotterdam. It attracts a total of 900.000 visitors.

Tennis

Arthur Ashe at the 1975 ABN World Tennis Tournament

Since 1972, Rotterdam hosts the indoor hard court ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, part of the ATP Tour. The event was first organised in 1972 when it was won by Arthur Ashe. Ashe went on to win the tournament two more times, making him the singles title record holder.

Former Wimbledon winner Richard Krajicek became the tournament director after his retirement in 2000. The latest edition of the tournament attracted a total of 116.354 visitors.[79]

Boxing

Bep van Klaveren

Rotterdam has a long boxing tradition starting with Bep van Klaveren (1907–1992), aka 'The Dutch Windmill', Gold medal winner of the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, followed by professional boxers like Regilio Tuur and Don Diego Poeder.

Other famous Rotterdam athletes

Francisco Elson

• Mia Audina, a retired Indonesia-born badminton player, living in Rotterdam.
• Nelli Cooman, a Surinamese-born retired athlete who held the 60 m dash world record, and was the world and European champion in that event.
• Robert Doornbos, a Rotterdam-born race car driver, who competed in the Formula One.
• Robert Eenhoorn, a Rotterdam-born retired MLB shortstop, who competed for the New York Yankees, the Anaheim Angels and the New York Mets.
• Dex Elmont, a Rotterdam-born judoka, who finished second in the European championships in 2009 in the 65 to 73 kg (143 to 161 lb) division.
• Guillaume Elmont, a Rotterdam-born judoka, who became world champion in 2005 in the 73 to 81 kg (161 to 179 lb) division.
• Francisco Elson, a Rotterdam-born basketball player who played in the NBA, won the NBA finals in 2007 with the San Antonio Spurs.
• Ignisious Gaisah, a Ghanaian-born long jumper with a personal best of 8.43 metres (27.66 feet), residing in Rotterdam since 2001. Gaisah is a multiple medal winner in several international events, both as a citizen of Ghana and the Netherlands.
• Francis Hoenselaar, a Rotterdam-born female darts player, generally recognised as the best Dutch female darts player ever.
• Robert Lathouwers, an athlete born in a Rotterdam suburb, specialised in the 800 m. Lathouwers gained international notoriety when he got disqualified after shoving Irish athlete David McCarthy in the 2010 European Championships.
• Fatima Moreira de Melo, a Rotterdam-born, three-times Olympic champion in field hockey. Moreira de Melo is a professional poker player.
• Piet Roozenburg, a Rotterdam-born draughts player, who was the world champion from 1948 to 1956 and the 8-time Dutch champion.
• Betty Stöve, a Rotterdam-born retired female tennis double specialist and 10-time Grand Slam winner.
• Ingmar Vos, a Rotterdam-born decathlete, with a personal best of 8224 points.

Rotterdam hosts several annual events unique to the city. It hosts the Zomercarnaval (Summer carnaval), the second-largest Caribbean carnival in Europe, originally called the Antillean carnival. Other events include: North Sea Jazz Festival, the largest Jazz festival in Europe, and a three-day long maritime extravaganza called the World Port Days celebrating the Port of Rotterdam.

• January: "Zesdaagse van Rotterdam" "(six-day track-cycling race) – Rotterdam Ahoy
• January: International Film Festival Rotterdam[81]
• February:
  • Rotterdam Open ABN AMRO ATP 500 Tennis Tournament – Rotterdam Ahoy
  • Art Rotterdam - international art fair at Van Nellefabriek
• April–June:
  • Rotterdam Marathon[82]
  • Poetry International
  • Koningsdag Festival (27 April)[83]
  • CHIO Rotterdam[84]
  • Roparun
• July:
  • North Sea Jazz Festival (second weekend of July)
  • Summer Carnival[85]
• August:
  • Pleinbioscoop[86]
  • Dag van de Romantische Muziek (Romantic music festival)
• September:
  • The World Port Days[87]
• November/December (Last weekend before 5 December (Sinterklaas))
  • Boterletterwedstrijden (Sailing regatta for International classes)[88]

Rotterdam offers connections by international, national, regional and local public transport systems, as well as by the Dutch motorway network.

Motorways
There are several motorways to/from Rotterdam. The following four are part of its 'Ring' (ring road):

• A20 (Ring North): Hook of Holland – Rotterdam – Gouda
• A16 (Ring East): Rotterdam – Breda (- Antwerp – Paris)
• A15 (Ring South): Europoort – Rotterdam – Nijmegen
• A4 (Ring West). Rotterdam - The Hague (- Amsterdam)

The following two other motorways also serve Rotterdam:

• A13, (Amsterdam -) The Hague – Delft – Rotterdam
• A29, (Antwerp -) Bergen op Zoom – Rotterdam

Airport
Much smaller than the international hub Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam The Hague Airport (formerly known as Zestienhoven) is the third-largest airport in the country, behind Schiphol Airport and Eindhoven Airport. Located north of the city, it has shown solid growth over the past five years, mostly caused by the growth of the low-cost carrier market. For business travellers, Rotterdam The Hague Airport offers advantages in terms of rapid handling of passengers and baggage. Environmental regulations make further growth uncertain.

Train

Rotterdam's new Central Station reopened in March 2014, designed to handle up to 320,000 passengers daily.

Rotterdam is well connected to the Dutch railway network, and has several international connections:

• Southern direction Dordrecht, Breda, Eindhoven, Flushing (Vlissingen) (also international trains to Belgium/France)
• Western direction Hook of Holland (reopened as a metro line in 2019)
• North-Western direction The Hague, Leiden, Amsterdam
• Northern direction (high-speed rail) Schiphol, Amsterdam
• North-Eastern direction Utrecht and further
• A fifth alternative train system to the Hague, the Hofplein Line was converted to the light rail system Randstadrail in 2006.
• The city is often mentioned as the terminus of the Eurasian Land Bridge.

Railway stations

• Rotterdam Centraal – Rotterdam's main station
• Rotterdam Alexander – Eastern part of Rotterdam
• Rotterdam Blaak – Close to the centre of Rotterdam
• Rotterdam Lombardijen – Most Southern part of Rotterdam
• Rotterdam Noord – Northern part of Rotterdam
• Rotterdam Zuid – Northern part of the Southern part of Rotterdam
• Rotterdam Stadion – A station near the Feyenoord stadium, open in connection with football matches and music concerts

The main connections:

• Direct international services to Belgium and France via high-speed train system: Thalys
• International trains to the south of France and London via the Eurostar[89]
• Frequent international trains to Antwerp and Brussels, Belgium
• Frequent services within the Netherlands:
  • Intercity line to The Hague, Leiden, Schiphol airport and Amsterdam (north)
  • Intercity line to Utrecht and on to Deventer or Enschede (the east), Leeuwarden (north-west) or Groningen (north-east)
  • Intercity line to Dordrecht, Roosendaal and on to Vlissingen (south west)
  • Intercity line to Dordrecht, Breda, Tilburg, Eindhoven and Venlo (south east)
  • Night services every hour connecting every day of the week to Delft, The Hague, Leiden, Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, and, with a detour, Utrecht. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday night services (either directly or via a detour) to Den Bosch, Eindhoven, Tilburg, Roosendaal.
  • Several semi-fast services and local trains originate or call at Rotterdam Centraal; semi-fast services Amsterdam-Breda.
• Detailed information available from the site of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways)[90]

In Rotterdam, public transport services are provided by the following companies:

• NS (Dutch Railways): national train services
• RET (Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram): Tram, city-bus, metro, randstadrail and ferry-services in Rotterdam and surrounding cities
• Arriva Netherlands: regional bus services
• Connexxion: regional bus services
• Qbuzz: regional bus services
• Veolia: regional bus services.

Metro

In 1968, Rotterdam was the first Dutch city to open a metro system. The metro system consists of three main lines, each of which has its own variants. The metro network has 78.3 km (48.7 mi) of rail tracks, and there are 70 stations, which makes it the biggest of the Benelux. 5 lines operate the system; 3 lines (A, B and C) on the east–west line, and two (D and E) on the north–south line. Line E (Randstadrail) connects Rotterdam with The Hague as of December 2011.

Map of the 2020 Rotterdam Metro

Rotterdam metro

Tram

The Rotterdam tramway network offers 9 regular tram lines and 4 special tram lines with a total length of 93.4 km (58.0 mi). Service Tramlines in Rotterdam as of 2016:

• 2: (Rotterdam) Charlois – Rotterdam Lombardijen NS – (Rotterdam) Keizerswaard (runs only to the southern part of the city)
• 4: (Rotterdam) Molenlaan – Rotterdam Centraal – (Rotterdam) Marconiplein
• 7: (Rotterdam) Oostplein – Rotterdam Centraal – (Rotterdam) Willemsplein
• 8: (Rotterdam) Spangen – Rotterdam Centraal – (Rotterdam) Kleiweg
• 20: Rotterdam Centraal – Rotterdam Lombardijen NS – (Rotterdam) Lombardijen
• 21: (Schiedam) Woudhoek – Station Schiedam Centrum – Rotterdam Centraal – (Rotterdam) De Esch
• 23: (Rotterdam) Marconiplein – Rotterdam Centraal – (Rotterdam) Beverwaard
• 24: (Vlaardingen) Holy – Station Schiedam Centrum – Rotterdam Centraal – (Rotterdam) De Esch
• 25: (Rotterdam) Schiebroek – Rotterdam Centraal – (Barendrecht) Carnisselande

A Citadis tram outside the former Rotterdam Centraal, 2008

Special tram lines:

• 10: Historical tram line, only runs in summer and throughout the whole city for tourist information. Using historical Rotterdam Trams from the year 1931.
• 18: Tramline from Rotterdam Central Station towards Park, runs only at the Dunya Festival and during the Rotterdam World Port Days.
• 12: Rotterdam Centraal – Stadion Feyenoord or Rotterdam Centraal – Het Kasteel ('The Castle', Sparta Stadium). Football tramline, only for big fixtures at Stadion Feyenoord or Het Kasteel.
• Snert-tram: Historical tram, only in winter as a tourist tram through Rotterdam. Passengers are provided with a cup of "snert"; Rotterdam dialect for erwtensoep (pea soup). Rolling stock is a historical Rotterdam tram from 1968.
• IJsjes-tram: Summer version of the snert tram, providing tourists with ijsjes (ice cream) rather than snert.

Water Taxi in Rotterdam

Bus
Rotterdam offers 55 city bus lines with a total length of 432.7 km (268.9 mi).

RET runs buses in the city of Rotterdam and surrounding places like Barendrecht, Ridderkerk, Rhoon, Poortugaal, Schiedam, Vlaardingen, Delft and Capelle aan den IJssel.

Arriva Netherlands, Connexxion, Qbuzz and Veolia run buses from other cities to Rotterdam.

An automated bus service, ParkShuttle, runs between Kralingse Zoom metro station and the Rivium Business Park in Capelle aan den IJssel.

The RoMeO Foundation
The Foundation RoMeO (Rotterdam Public Transport Museum and Exploitation of Oldtimers) was founded in 1997 to bring together various historical transport collections into one collection. Currently, the joint collection consists of more than sixty trams, twenty buses and an underground metro dating from 1967. Since 2010 the Rotterdam public transport museum is housed in the monumental tram depot Hillegersberg from 1923.[91]

Waterbus
The Waterbus network consists of seven lines. The mainline (Line 20) stretches from Rotterdam to Dordrecht. The ferry carries about 130 passengers, and there is space for 60 bicycles. The stops between Rotterdam and Dordrecht are:

• Rotterdam Erasmusbrug – Krimpen aan den IJssel Stormpolder – Ridderkerk De Schans – Alblasserdam Kade – Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht Noordeinde – Papendrecht Westeind – Dordrecht Merwekade.

Ferry
P&O Ferries have daily sailings from Europoort to Kingston upon Hull in the UK.

Rotterdam has city and port connections throughout the world. In 2008, the city had 13 sister cities, 12 partner cities, and 4 sister ports.[92] Since 2008, the City of Rotterdam doesn't forge new sister or partner connections. Sister and partner cities are not a priority in international relations.[93]

On 15 March 2017, the Turkish president expressed his wish that Istanbul should no longer be the twin town of Rotterdam. A speaker of the Rotterdam municipality then explained that the two cities have no official partnership. Both authorities do cooperate often.[94]

Rotterdam features in Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall" (1835).[96]

Rotterdam features in J.T. Sheridan Le Fanu's "Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter" (1839).

In season 1, episode 2 of The Golden Girls ("Guess Who's Coming to the Wedding?"), Dorothy reminisces how her ex-husband, Stan, would buy her tulips after they fought. "Towards the end, our house looked like Easter in Rotterdam."

In 1996, the British band The Beautiful South recorded a song named after this region titled "Rotterdam (or Anywhere)."[97]

Part of Jackie Chan's 1998 film Who Am I? is set in Rotterdam.

Ender's Shadow, part of the series Ender's Game is partially set in Rotterdam.

In the 2004 video game Hitman: Contracts, the missions "Rendezvous in Rotterdam" and "Deadly Cargo" are both set in Rotterdam.

The 2017 Laurence Olivier Award-winning play Rotterdam, written by Jon Brittain, is set in the city.

In Battlefield V, this city is used as a map released on its two of its maps on launch, which are Rotterdam and Devastation, and featured the British Army fighting against the Wehrmacht and according to its history, the white building was almost left untouched by the bombing during WWII and that building can be seen on both in-game and real world.

• World's busiest ports, by type of port (a "list of lists")

• Rotterdam City Council (English)
• Rotterdam Tourism Board
• VisitRotterdam.org (Unofficial)