Tell 'em Festival

Tell ’em Festival 2027 – Rising Voices Tell ’em is Rotterdam’s international spoken word festival. On 11, 12 and 13 November 2027 we fill Café Dox and the Nieuwe Luxor Theater with poetry, music and the people who make it. This year’s theme is Rising Voices. We bring together around twenty poets from different countries with new voices from Rotterdam and the rest of the Netherlands. At the heart of the festival is the International Poetry Slam. Two semi-finals in Café Dox, each with about ten poets, decide who goes through to the final. There the finalists perform two poems each, one of them new, and compete for the title. There are no props and no set, only the poet, the poem and the room. The jury is made up of people from the audience, so you help decide who wins. Poets perform in their own language. You might hear Dutch, English, Sranan Tongo, Spanish or Russian in a single night, and our subtitling team makes sure you can follow every poem. You don’t need to speak the language to feel what a poem is about. Each night opens with live music and an open mic, so there is room for anyone who wants to get up and share something. On the final night a full live band plays an open jam before the slam starts. Between the rounds we host international slam champions, including the reigning world champion, as guest performers. There is more to do than watch. During the festival we run masterclasses and workshops for poets who want to sharpen their writing and performance. At the spoken word market you can meet other makers, buy poetry collections and merchandise, and talk to the artists you just saw on stage. Parts of the slam will be livestreamed for people who can’t be there. Tell ’em is made together with more than ten partners, including Breakin’ Convention and Music Matters, who programme the live band. That mix brings spoken word into contact with hip-hop, dance and theatre, and makes for crossovers you won’t see anywhere else. The 2027 edition is also a stepping stone. In 2028 Rotterdam hosts the European Poetry Slam Championship in the same venue, with around thirty-two poets from all over Europe. Rising Voices is the last edition in this form and the first look at what is coming. We want everyone to feel welcome. Tickets are kept affordable, with discounts available through our partners. The venue is wheelchair accessible, there is a quiet room every night and an awareness team is on site.