Rotterdam

Rotterdam, Europe's largest port and the Netherlands' second city, was the European Capital of Sport 2005. A modern city of bold architecture, rebuilt after the Second World War, Rotterdam has made sport a hallmark: Feyenoord fills its De Kuip stadium, one of the country's most emblematic, and the city hosts major events such as the Rotterdam Marathon — one of the fastest in the world — and the ABN AMRO tennis tournament. The 2005 title reinforced the vocation of a port city used to staging international events and to using sport as an engine of cohesion and projection.