Antwerp hosts European Slam Poetry Championship this weekend

Art campus De Singel in Antwerp is hosting the 2024 European Slam Poetry Championships on Saturday evening. Twenty national slam champions will compete during the 10th edition of the event.

For this anniversary edition, the competition returns to where it all began: the very first European Slam Poetry Championship also took place in Antwerp.

"Expect a daring mix of performance, poetry and experimentation," says De Singel. "The rebellious sister of poetry and literature breaks all the rules of written art. Solid phrases, rhythmic readings and activist musings: the slam poets create a literary playing field where anything goes."

"Expect a daring mix of performance, poetry and experimentation"

The winner will be chosen by a jury of experts from across Europe, but the audience in the hall will also be able to vote live and award an audience prize. The winner will represent Europe at the next World Championships.

The championship is part of De Singel's four-day 'Downtown New York' festival. Slam poetry originated in the USA in the 1980s, and the festival celebrates the artistic climate of that era, which blurred the lines between conceptual art, music and performance. There will also be debates, readings and a networking event.

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