600 of cars gather at illegal car meeting in Emmen, police issues 25 fines

About 600 car enthusiasts gathered in Emmen on Friday evening for a so-called car meeting. Mayor Eric van Oosterhout told the Dagblad van het Noorden that it was an “illegal and unannounced” gathering with many visitors from Germany.

Images showed hundreds of cars near the De Oude Meerdijk football stadium. Cars drove around on the tarmac in the middle of a crowd and fireworks were set off. The municipality was surprised by the massive car gathering. The event caused a lot of nuisance, the municipality stated on Saturday.

According to a reporter from RTV Drenthe, the atmosphere there was "gloomy". Several residents wrote on X that they were unable to leave their homes.

The police in Emmen issued approximately 25 fines to participants of the large car meeting, including for making unnecessary noise, incorrect license plates, riding on the cycle path, or non-working lights, police said. The German police also held a border check, RTV Drenthe reported.

The Dagblad van het Noorden reported that the police cleared the area where the car fans had gathered. The authorities then closed off the access roads around the Meerdijk to prevent more people from coming. With the help of police teams from the region, the event was put to an end peacefully around midnight, according to the municipality.

Mayor Van Oosterhout is pleased with the actions of the police. "We will continue to take action against such unauthorized gatherings to guarantee safety and livability within our municipality," he told RTV Drenthe.

Last weekend, the mobile unit put an end to a similar event on the Hazeldonk industrial estate in Breda along the A16. Some 500 people had gathered there with cars.