Royal honour for Mr Roland de Groot from Hoog Soeren

Roland de Groot began his career in the 1960s as a set designer for the NTS (later NOS/NOB), for which he would go on to design sets for decades. He built up an enormous body of work, including sets for, amongst others, Pipo the Clown, Flip the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Tita the Wizard, New Harvest and Moef Ga Ga. With his innovative sets, he created a new visual language and shook up the industry.

In the 1970s and 1980s, he contributed to the Eurovision Song Contest on four occasions, creating groundbreaking designs for the event. He introduced moving set pieces and the so-called ‘video postcards’, through which participating countries could present themselves. These clips proved so successful that they are still used to this day.

In addition, from the 1980s onwards, he worked for many years as an art director for Joop van den Ende Productions. In that role, he designed countless sets for, amongst others, the 1-2-3-show, the André van Duin theatre shows, Ron’s Honeymoon Quiz, Showmasters and the Holiday Show.

No less groundbreaking was the work he did for the Dutch film industry from the 1970s onwards. He was the man behind the sets and designs for many classics, including Turkish Delight, Soldier of Orange, The fourth man, Uruq and Black Book. His designs were instrumental in shaping the narrative, atmosphere and magic of these films.

Through his extensive work as a leading set designer and art director, Roland de Groot has had an exceptional and defining impact on Dutch and international visual culture. Various productions on which he worked have won awards. His work has inspired many and is a testament to rare craftsmanship: artistic, meticulous, innovative and always in the service of the story.