Founding father
The smell of freshly cooked eggs hits me the moment I walk in. Behind a massive kitchen island, Peter Sanders is standing with a few colleagues, cooking omelets. An unexpected scene for someone who organizes annual festivals for tens of thousands of visitors. But actually, it fits perfectly. Given the effortless way he handles the pans, this former restaurant owner has clearly gained more than just business experience in his restaurant.
Between sips of coffee, jokes, and omelets, he talks enthusiastically about festivals, music, rock ’n’ roll, and new ideas. Sanders is one of the founders of Paaspop and is now CEO of This is Live Group. During Festivak, he takes visitors on a journey through his career, from volunteering at the then-small-scale Paaspop to becoming the driving force behind a festival that attracts nearly 40,000 visitors per day each year.
We were there this year! Read here about our experience at Paaspop 2026 and which Festivak exhibitors we encountered.
The birth of Paaspop
Sitting still, waiting around, and working for a boss. Those are words that don’t appear in Peter Sanders’ vocabulary. “I always had a sort of awareness that it was really important for my work to be my passion.” Long before Paaspop grew into a festival with international appeal, he already wanted to throw parties. Back then, the idea that he would one day organize one of the Netherlands’ biggest festivals was still just a dream.
“I wanted to become world-famous as a drummer in a band, organize a festival, or open a bar.” He says it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. In hindsight, it turned out to be the blueprint for his career. Two of those three dreams came true—and how! Thanks to his love of music, his rock-’n-roll mentality, hard work, and a healthy dose of guts, he’s still making his dreams come true every day.
The starting point for that success came when Paaspop was looking for young volunteers in the late 1980s. The festival had already been around for about ten years and was held at a riding arena in Schijndel. Together with four other young enthusiasts, he got the chance to take over the organization. While he was still in school, he devoted virtually all his free time to the festival. “I’d just hop on my bike and head to the festival grounds.”
The results weren’t long in coming. In 1990, Paaspop drew over 2,400 visitors with the Urban Dance Squad, Herman Brood, and De Gigantjes. A year later, that number had already risen to 4,500. “And by then, we were already sold out three weeks in advance.”
The sky’s the limit
They were brimming with ideas and incredibly ambitious. Driven by their success, they were looking for more. That meant something new was added almost every year. But it didn’t stop there. First came a second stage. Not long after, a blues café followed. And before anyone knew it, there was also a theater tent. It didn’t take long before Paaspop moved entirely outdoors and grew from a one-day festival into a weekend event with more than seventeen stages.
“We started connecting stages and expanding more and more. A theater tent was added, and eventually a campground.” Where cars once parked, thousands of festivalgoers now walk. In just six weeks, a few fields in Schijndel turn into a full-fledged festival village where visitors come from far and wide. When asked where all the experience came from to set this up, Sanders replied without hesitation: “We didn’t have any. We just got started.” He shrugs matter-of-factly.
There’s someone listening to AC/DC, and a hundred meters away, Corry Konings is performing. That’s what Paaspop is all about.”
Each tent has its own concept
Interestingly enough, Sanders didn’t learn the most important principle behind Paaspop at a festival site, but in the hospitality industry. Entrepreneurial as he is, he bought a café while he was still in school—and while he was going full steam ahead with Paaspop. Dream number two was also a reality. There, he organizes autumn parties with half a meter of leaves on the floor, Quentin Tarantino nights, and all kinds of other themed parties.
“This is where I really learned to think conceptually,” he says. That way of working still forms the foundation of Paaspop. “I view every tent as a new concept.” For Sanders, a stage is much more than just a place where an artist performs. Each stage has its own identity, decor, music style, and atmosphere. As a result, walking through Paaspop feels like stepping into a completely new world every time. You can see that reflected in everything. Paaspop is world-famous for its decor. “It gets dark fairly early around Paaspop, which adds even more atmosphere. It’s kind of like Las Vegas when you’re walking around among thousands of lights.”
“At Paaspop, that’s allowed”
According to Sanders, it’s precisely that enormous variety that makes Paaspop unique. “There’s someone listening to AC/DC, and a hundred meters away, Corry Konings is performing. That’s what Paaspop is all about,” he says with a smile. Not every stage is for everyone, but there are always a few you’ll enjoy. According to Sanders, this has given Paaspop a unique place in the festival landscape. “I think we’ve developed our own style with Paaspop. A wonderful Brabant-style conviviality with an incredible vibe and atmosphere thanks to the setting.”
That combination of major artists, surprising programming, and an all-encompassing experience has ensured that the festival now has a loyal following, ranging from young festivalgoers to devoted fans who’ve been coming back for decades. “Paaspop is very much focused on the experience—on people really going wild.
From passion to profession
Paaspop grew at lightning speed. But success also has a downside. More and more organisers dropped out because the festival had become impossible to balance with a regular job. Peter Sanders and Chris Seijkens decided at that point to go all in.
Together, they organized one event after another. While Chris Seijkens focused more and more on Paaspop, Sanders teamed up with Joop Soree to launch This is Live Group. The goal: to professionalize processes, establish structure, and create room for further growth. Today, This is Live is the organization behind some 80 brands and events, including Solar, Wish Outdoor, Bondgenoten, Extrema Outdoor, and, of course, Paaspop.
Sold-out shows are no longer a given
To ensure all these festivals are—and remain—successful, This is Live keeps a close eye on the market at all times. And according to Sanders, that market is changing faster than ever. International artists are increasingly opting for stadium tours. “The true fan goes there instead of to a festival. Those acts take home millions per show. That makes them too expensive to book for festivals.”
Visitors’ purchasing behavior has also changed. Whereas tickets used to sell out in a flash, people are now waiting longer and longer to make their purchases. “If you’re organizing a festival with a budget in the millions and you still don’t know how many people will show up by the time you start setting up, that’s definitely a tricky situation.”
Sanders clearly sees the difference from the past. “At a music event we organized, the first 500 early-bird tickets sold out within five minutes. On the first day, we sold 2,000 tickets without placing a single ad.”
Unthinkable now. On top of that, Generation Z has different expectations. “Generation Z behaves differently and feels much less urgency to buy a ticket.”
I see the same names on roadside posters so often. Don’t do that. Make sure you feature interesting acts.”
Stand out in everything
Yet there’s one thing that, according to Sanders, never changes: you build a successful festival together. Paaspop has since grown into one of the largest stage-building projects in the Netherlands. “I’d say it’s almost one of the biggest stage-building jobs of the year.”
This is only possible thanks to long-term partnerships with suppliers who have grown alongside the festival. Quality is important, but creativity is perhaps even more so. Precisely because there is so much competition, Sanders believes you have to dare to stand out. Suppliers who contribute ideas in this area have an edge. It’s not just the decor that makes Paaspop unique; the lineup also plays a key role. “We have really good programmers. It’s still a serious lineup, but it’s entirely our own.”
His advice to organisers is therefore clear: “I see the same names on roadside posters so often. Don’t do that. Make sure you feature interesting acts.”
Peter Sanders x Festivak
During Festivak, Peter Sanders takes visitors on a journey through more than thirty years of festival development. No theoretical lecture or list of success factors, but practical experience, anecdotes, and lessons learned from thousands of days of production.
As he puts it himself: “I enjoy talking about rock ’n’ roll—about concepts, musical genres, production, and stage design.” A session about daring to dream, continuing to innovate, and creating something new every year that makes people say: “I want to be here again next year.”
Curious about how Peter Sanders has continued to innovate for over thirty years in a constantly changing events industry? At Festivak, he’ll share his story, including lessons that every organiser, vendor, and event professional can benefit from.
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