The base of the present Ahoy was laid in 1950 . After the devastation caused by the Second World War , the city of Rotterdam had worked on reconstruction and Rotterdam port was virtually complete . To mark the occasion , the Rotterdam Ahoy ! exhibition was held in a purpose-built hall on the site where the medical faculty of the Erasmus University now stands . The exhibition hall was called the '' ' Ahoy-Hal ' '' . The apostrophe is a remnant of the original exclamation mark . The hall was used for a series of national and international events , such as the exhibition of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright ’s work . During the North Sea flood of 1953 the hall also proved its worth as a reception centre for victims . Rotterdam Ahoy , in its current form , was built in 1970 . The complex ’s striking design won various national and international awards for its special steel structures . The first event to be held there was the Femina family exhibition . Since then , Ahoy has been expanded on a number of occasions , and was renovated and refurbished in 1998 to create today ’s multifunctional venue
North Sea flood of 1953
North Sea flood of 1953
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007