Zuiderwaterlinie: De Sprong

On June 23 and 24, 2018, the Zuiderwaterlinie set the stage for a grand adventure: De Sprong and the Zuiderwaterlinie Festival. The centuries-old defensive waterline stretching from Grave to Bergen op Zoom became the playground for the festival’s performers — musicians, vocalists, poets, and dancers — as well as for the dozens of parachutists taking part in De Sprong.

De Sprong is an initiative of the Zuiderwaterlinie Alliance and a concept developed by Mothership. The idea is rooted in Brabant’s history as the military defense line of the Northern Netherlands. The province’s many fortifications, strongholds, fortified towns, and inundation areas recall Brabant’s storied past as a front line. With the advent of aviation, these barriers lost their strategic purpose, and the Zuiderwaterlinie ceased to function as a line of defense. The airplane thus became a symbol of Brabant’s liberation.

De Sprong was realized in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence, EATC, Eindhoven Air Base (336 Squadron), Royal Netherlands Air Force Historic Flight, Skydive Rotterdam, Skydive ENPC, and KNVvL. Mothership developed the concept, guided the participation process, and coordinated the project.