500 Extra Songs at Top 2000

NPO Radio 2’s Top 2000 is celebrating its 25th edition this year with a “gift to the listeners”. Because of the anniversary, ‘the list of lists’ will be expanded this year with 500 extra songs, under the name De Extra 500.

Numbers 2500 to 2001 in the list will be played during the day from Monday 11 to Friday 15 December, DJ Bart Arens announced in his show on NPO Radio 2.

“We are giving the end-of-year atmosphere in December even more color with this extra broadcast week,” NPO Radio 2 station manager Peter de Vries said in a statement. “The Top 2000 must of course remain the Top 2000: the list of lists can also be heard this year from Christmas to New Year’s Eve,” says de Vries.

The Extra 500 is based on the same voting as the Top 2000, so no additional voting is required. From December 1 to 8, listeners can submit their favorite songs again. This year’s list will be announced shortly afterwards.

Since 1999, the still popular program has been broadcast at the end of the year. The first edition was intended to herald the year 2000 with a one-off musical campaign, in which listeners could submit one song accompanied by a personal story or memory.

But the Top 2000 became a huge success, after which NPO Radio 2 decided to broadcast the concept every year. In 2007, the show won the Golden Radio Earpiece, an audience award for the best radio event. In 2013, the program attracted 10.8 million listeners.

Every year, shortly before New Year’s Eve, the last song – the first place – of the Top 2000 can be heard. In 2022 this was Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody for the 19th time. The English band’s hit has only failed to reach number 1 five times in the past 24 editions. The last time that happened, in 2020, Danny Vera took first place with Rollercoaster.