Video: Thousands turn out for Utrecht pillow fight

By Zack Newmark on April 5, 2015 - 09:20
Utrecht 2015 Pillow Fight
Domplein, Utrecht: A key battleground during 2015 International Pillow Fight Day, April 4, 2015 (photo: Hans Gommer / Twitter). (Domplein, Utrecht: A key battleground during 2015 International Pillow Fight Day, April 4, 2015 (photo: Hans Gommer / Twitter))

Over 1,500 people celebrated International Pillow Fight Day in Domplein, one of the city’s main squares, Saturday afternoon. Feathers and stuffing filled the square within seconds of the fight’s official start at 3 p.m.

Some estimates suggested upwards of 2,000 people took part in the fight, with no major injuries, AD reported. Photos were posted to Facebook and Twitter from people claiming hand injuries.

Local comic actor Hans Gommer joked that he had a cherry pit-filled therapeutic pillow warmed up and ready for battle minutes before the pillow fight was set to take place.

Roughly 13,300 people responded that they would attend, after event organisers Kleiner dan Die announced the fight on Facebook. The organisers called it a success, significantly improving on the few hundred who showed up last year.

The organisers and city workers assisted in the cleanup.

Globally, the day of pillow bashing is promoted by the Urban Playground Movement. “One of our goals is to make these unique happenings in public space become a significant part of popular culture, partially replacing passive, non-social consumption experiences like watching television, and consciously celebrating public spaces in our cities as our ‘urban living rooms,’” the group says on their website.

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