Top 2000
The Top 2000 is an annual Dutch marathon radio programme that plays the 2,000 most popular songs listeners have deemed the best of all time. The show runs 24 hours a day, starting Christmas and ending on New Year's Eve. The show is hosted by national public radio station NPO Radio 2. A significant part of the population of the Netherlands listens to the broadcast each year; during the 2019 edition, NPO Radio 2 had a national radio market share of 17.7 percent. In regard of its popularity and notoriety, the show is often called de lijst der lijsten, the chart of charts.
The Top 2000 is broadcast from a purpose-built studio and cafe, with the show's logo on the outside | |
| Genre | Popular music; Listener determined mix including Classic rock, Mainstream rock, Hip Hop, Jazz standards, Hot adult contemporary, Rhythmic adult contemporary, Dance pop, Dance |
|---|---|
| Running time | 7 days (168 hours; 25 December midnight - 31 December midnight) for 24 hours a day, only interrupted by short hourly news bulletins and commercials |
| Country of origin | Netherlands |
| Language(s) | Dutch |
| Home station | NPO Radio 2 (broadcast by NTR) |
| TV adaptations | Top 2000 a Gogo |
| Hosted by | Various, multiple per edition |
| Created by | Kees Toering |
| Recording studio | Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, Hilversum |
| Original release | 26 December 1999 |
| No. of episodes | 25 |
| Audio format | FM, cable, satellite, DAB, DTT and internet |
| Opening theme | A remix of Tommy Overture (The Who) |
| Website | NPO Radio 2 - Top 2000 |
| Podcast | NPO Radio 2 player |
The Top 2000, first held in 1999 to inaugurate the new millennium, was intended to be a one-time event. It became immensely popular. Following this success, Radio 2 decided to make it an annual programme.
The broadcast initially started at midnight on the day after Christmas (Dutch: tweede kerstdag, also known as Boxing Day). From 2009 onwards, the show begins broadcasting on 25 December, Christmas Day. From 2009 to 2015, the show started at noon. From 2015 to 2018 the show started at 9:00, with 2019 starting at 8:00 in the morning and 2020 starting right after midnight. It continues until midnight of New Year's Eve.
The show is hosted in a temporary studio called the Top 2000 Café at the Netherlands Institute of Sound and Vision in Hilversum. Visitors are able to purchase a timed ticket to enter the studio. Because of the popularity of the show and the small size of the studio, visitors are only allowed to stay for a limited period of time. The tickets have been known to sell out quickly.