No ice rink on Amsterdam's Museumplein this year due to permit issues

The annual ice rink on Amsterdam’s Museumplein won’t happen this year. According to the organizers, IceAmsterdam, the city decided not to renew its permit and dithered so long on the decision that there was no time to apply for a new one.

“The ice rink has become a winter institution in the city of Amsterdam over the past years,” IceAmsterdam said. The rink has welcomed nearly 100,000 skaters over the past nine years, from school groups to tourists taking their first lessons. That has now come to an abrupt end, the organizers said.

According to IceAmsterdam, it and the municipality have known since 2019 that it would need a renewed permit this year. But after three years of talks, the municipality informed IceAmsterdam in September that it wouldn’t renew its permit, also leaving it no time to apply for a new one. The organizers said the procedure for a new permit takes six to nine months.

“We have been in discussions with the municipality of Amsterdam for three years, and these discussions have never provided clarity. Until in September, we heard that we couldn’t proceed. We were astonished that it was canceled at the last minute,” the organization said. “Everything had already been put into motion for the 2023 edition.”

“This indecision has now resulted in the ice rink of IceAmsterdam, where we allowed 100,000 people to enjoy ice through sports and games for young and old, remaining in the fridge. We would have liked to see it differently and have done everything we could but, unfortunately, without results.”

A spokesperson for the Zuid district, which covers the Museumplein, told Het Parool that it was investigating the possibility of allowing the ice rink again next year and in subsequent years.