EM: Dutch fans’ dance goes viral

– From left to right: There’s a comedian behind this hit Dutch song

Simple song, simple dance: A song by the Dutch party band Snollebollekes has attracted widespread attention at the European Football Championship.

Posted today at 6:02 AM

When it comes to atmosphere, you can count on the Dutch: just like at the 2008 European Championships, when they bathed the streets of Bern in orange, German city centres are now glowing orange at the ongoing European Championships. During the group stage, an estimated 40,000 fans danced in sync in Hamburg, moving left, right and back again.

The song, released in 2015 by the band Snollebollekes (German: Schnuckelchen), has become something of an unofficial European Championship theme song. The party band, centered around lead singer and comedian Rob Kemps, plays in a style that could be described as carnival rock or après-ski—few melodies, even fewer lyrics, more bass and stomping.

The Dutch song “Left Right” is now going viral for the second time: In 2019, thousands of people in South Holland danced to the song under the direction of Rob Kemps on King’s Day, a national holiday celebrated on April 27. Even the surrounding houses could feel the ground shaking.

The key line goes something like this: “Everybody’s on the left/right/left/right.” These are also instructions for what to do while dancing. Because just singing probably won’t spark a viral hit. The extremely simple chorus ends with the “Dödödödö” part.

Dutch supporters danced ecstatically not only in the streets but also in public view: Thousands of oranges stomped from left to right in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium after reaching the semi-final on Saturday. Of course, her national team did the same on the pitch.

Last week and this week, Ballermann great Ikke Hipgold performed the song in a German version at the Mallorca Open Air and Summer Festivals. Judging by the videos on Instagram, the song was well received by the audience. At least it seemed to have helped the Germans, who were on holiday on the island, get through the early end of the competition.

Songs by the entertaining band Snollebollekes have been streamed more than 50 million times on Spotify. The video from Hamburg has received 1.5 million views on the Guardian Football YouTube channel. His peaceful act has also received enthusiastic praise from fans. “The police have nothing to do, it’s like it’s a child’s birthday,” wrote one user. “Every country wants fans like this,” commented another.

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