''Ik hou van Holland'' (English: ''I love Holland'') is a Dutch

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

, presented by

Linda de Mol Linda Margaretha de Mol (born 8 July 1964 in Hilversum) is a successful Dutch television presenter and actress in the Netherlands and Germany. She is the sister of TV-producer and Endemol co-founder John de Mol, and has frequently appeared i ...

. It is broadcasting during prime time, on Saturday nights on

RTL4 RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free-to-cable television channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment channel with in ...

. The show tests Dutch celebrities on their knowledge of the Netherlands. Present day it is taken over by SBS and will broadcast a new season from September 2019. The show opened with the tune of the tango song after which it was named, "Ik hou van Holland", by Willy Schootemeijer. The song, sung in Dutch, was a hit in the 1930s for the Austro-Hungarian tenor

Joseph Schmidt Joseph Schmidt (4 March 1904 – 16 November 1942) was an Austro-Hungarian and Romanian Jewish tenor and actor. Life and career Schmidt was born in Davideny (Ukrainian: '' Davydivka'') village in the Storozhynets district of the Bukovina ...

and, in the early 1970s, by the Dutch boy singer

Heintje Hendrik Nikolaas Theodoor "Heintje" Simons (born 12 August 1955) in Heerlen, later known as Hein Simons, is a Dutch schlager singer and actor. Background Heintje was born the son of a coal miner who had to retire because of silicosis, reduci ...

(his version is used in the theme song)

Format

The series was contested by two teams, captained by

Jeroen van Koningsbrugge Jeroen van Koningsbrugge (born 3 September 1973) is a Dutch actor, comedian, singer, director and presenter. He has appeared in more than thirty films since 1999. He was a member of the television programme '' De Lama's'' and together with his fr ...

and

Guus Meeuwis Gustaaf Stephanus Modestus "Guus" Meeuwis (born 23 March 1972) is a Dutch singer-songwriter. As part of the band Vagant, he scored several hits in the Netherlands and Flanders during the 1990s and first decade of the 2000s. On 24 May 2015, Meeuwi ...

. Formerly,

Beau van Erven Dorens Beau van Erven Dorens (born 24 December 1970) is a Dutch television presenter, actor and voice actor. He is known for presenting many television programs, including ''Deal or No Deal'', ''RTL Boulevard'', ''Het Zesde Zintuig'' and ''Beau Five Da ...

(season 1-3) and Peter Heerschop (season 4-6) were team captains. Every episode there are new celebrity team members. The goal was to win as many points as possible by answering questions about Dutch culture and spelling relatively difficult Dutch words correctly, among other challenges. The format of the show was the basis for the

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

show I Love My Country, first broadcast in August 2013.

Play rounds

The important rounds are, in order of play: * TV questions * Guessing a song's title and performer ** Mr. Hoi Chi Cheung (season 4&6) ** Songs with pictures (since season 4) ** Translating (since season 5) * What we know about the country (season 2-3) * What does he ask? (season 4) * "In Holland staat een huis" (± "There's a house in Holland", after the Dutch children's song) (only during the

Koninginnedag ''Koningsdag'' () or King's Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 27 April (26 April if the 27th is a Sunday), the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. When the Dutch monarch is female, the holi ...

-special of 2009) * Dutch language ** Spell a word ** Guessing a difficult Dutch word (season 1-4) ** Chinese whispers (since season 5) * What shall we eat? (season 1) * Guessing well-known Dutchman/Dutchwoman * The lists * Topography * Dutchman of the year (only during the New Year's Eve of 2008) * Sports and news questions (RTL fragments during the 'Viert 20 jaar RTL' special & Sinterklaas fragments during the Sinterklaas special of 2009) (only sports questions: season 1-3) * Final (spin the wheel: since season 2)

Seasons

Specials

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ik Hou Van Holland 2008 Dutch television series debuts Dutch game shows Television series by Endemol RTL 4 original programming