The Passion is a huge Passion Play, held around Easter on the streets of a certain city. The event started in the Netherlands as a collaboration between the broadcasters EO and RKK (nowadays between EO and KRO-NCRV) and the local community. In 2016 an American version was staged in New Orleans. The event is considered a missionary chance to pay attention to Easter.
The event and television is partly inspired by the local event, the Manchester Passion , held and broadcast by BBC Three on Good Friday. The production company Eye2Eye Media brought the event to the Netherlands. The first Dutch version was on Maundy Thursday in 2011 held at the market square in Gouda with a live-broadcast on TV. It proved successful and new editions followed in the next years.
Later on, other countries like Belgium (2014) and the United States (2016) followed with local versions of the event.
The event is staged in a main square in a city around Easter.
On this square a stage is built where celebrities tell the story of Easter, on basis of certain passages around the traditional story of Jesus, interspersed with live performances of actual pop songs.
Meanwhile, a group of people carries a huge cross towards the main stage in the center square.
The host city is selected annually on the basis of various factors.
| Country/Region | Local title | Network(s) | Location | Narrator | Procession reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belgium (  Flanders) | De Passie |
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| — |
 Germany | Die Passion | RTL | 2022: Essen | Thomas Gottschalk | — |
 Netherlands | The Passion |
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 United States | The Passion: New Orleans | Fox | 2016: New Orleans | Tyler Perry | Nischelle Turner |
The Dutch adaption of The Passion is a project between the EO and KRO-NCRV networks, the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches in the Netherlands, and the Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap (the Dutch Bible Society). The goal is to bring attention to the Passion of Jesus and make it accessible to the new generation.
The first three editions were all held in the province of South Holland. The fourth edition, held in Groningen, was the first outside of the Randstad. Since that year the locations have been distributed throughout the country. The 2016 edition was staged in Amersfoort, the 2017 one in Leeuwarden, and that of 2018 in the Bijlmermeer district of Amsterdam. [3]
A Flemish version of The Passion was held for the first time in 2014. It was called De Passie and staged on Maundy Thursday in Merchtem. The event attracted around 10,000 visitors. [4]
In the United States, The Passion: New Orleans has been staged for the first time in 2016. On March 20 of that year the first American edition took place in New Orleans, and has been aired by Fox. This adaption also was a musical. [5]
There is also interest from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, South America, Norway and Poland. [6] [7] [8]
The Passion Play or Easter pageant is a dramatic presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ: his trial, suffering and death. The viewing of and participation in Passion Plays is a traditional part of Lent in several Christian denominations, particularly in the Catholic and Evangelical traditions; as such Passion Plays are often ecumenical Christian productions.
Holy Week is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. For all Christian traditions it is a moveable observance. In Eastern Christianity, which also calls it Great Week, it is the week following Great Lent and Lazarus Saturday, starting on the evening of Palm Sunday and concluding on the evening of Great Saturday. In Western Christianity, Holy Week is the sixth and last week of Lent, beginning with Palm Sunday and concluding on Holy Saturday.
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Clouseau is a Belgian pop group, having success in Belgium and the Netherlands since being established in the late 1980s. Apart from a brush with English material in the early 1990s they perform in Dutch. Their biggest hits are "Daar gaat ze" and "Passie".
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The Passion is a Dutch passion play, held every Maundy Thursday since 2011 in a different city each year. The event is broadcast live on Dutch television. In 2015 and 2018, it was broadcast on radio as well.
The Passion: New Orleans is an American music television special that was broadcast by Fox on March 20, 2016. Based on the Dutch franchise of the same name and produced by Dick Clark Productions and Eye2Eye Media, it was a contemporary retelling of the Passion of Jesus Christ set to popular music, through a mixture of live and pre-recorded segments filmed from locations around New Orleans.
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