New Year's storm: Bonfires moved to tonight, but national fireworks show still a "go"

The annual bonfires on the beaches of Scheveningen and Duindorp in The Hague will be lit Monday night at 11 p.m., a day earlier than planned, due to high wind forecasts. The KNMI predicts wind speeds of force 6 or 7 along the coast on New Year’s Eve, conditions deemed unsafe, according to the municipality. A similar bonfire in The Hague’s Laak district will also take place Monday night.

"By holding the bonfires on Monday evening, the builders and spectators can still enjoy this Hague tradition safely, albeit a day earlier," said The Hague Mayor Jan van Zanen. Builders in Scheveningen had already anticipated the change on Sunday, predicting that the 10-meter-high woodpile would be set ablaze on December 30.

Last year, high winds similarly prompted an early start to The Hague’s bonfires.

In the city center, a light and laser show near the Hofvijver pond will proceed as planned on New Year’s Eve. The display is unaffected by the wind, but fireworks have been banned near the Binnenhof government complex due to fire risk.

Meanwhile, Rotterdam's major fireworks display at the Erasmus Bridge is still scheduled to take place. Organizers of the National Fireworks event said they currently expect the high winds will not disrupt the show. North Holland and the Wadden Sea region are under a yellow weather warning during the New Year’s period, with gusts up to 90 kilometers per hour expected. However, South Holland has no weather warnings at this time.

Mark Rouwenhorst, representing the event’s organizers, said the show can proceed with winds of up to 9 meters per second (about force 5-6 on the Beaufort scale). “Current forecasts are at 8 meters per second. It’s right on the edge, but we’re in the clear for now,” Rouwenhorst said. He expressed confidence the show will go on and noted further consultations are planned for Tuesday afternoon. The annual event attracts approximately 70,000 visitors.

In Amsterdam’s Floradorp neighborhood, the municipal government has ordered the annual bonfire to be lit on Monday night at 11 p.m., citing strong winds expected on New Year’s Eve. The city has yet to announce how the yellow weather warning will impact other events, such as the light and fireworks show at Museumplein.

The municipality of Waadhoeke in Friesland has canceled all six planned bonfires due to safety concerns. The events were scheduled to take place in Oosterbierum, Sint Annaparochie, Sint Jacobiparochie, Tzum, Tzummarum, and Engelum. Local officials said strong winds and the risk of airborne embers posed too great a danger to nearby areas. Unlike other regions, Waadhoeke chose not to move its bonfires to an earlier date.

“For residents, the bonfires are secondary to gathering together. That gathering will still go on. Nobody has asked for the fires to be moved up,” a Waadhoeke spokesperson said.

Two years ago, severe weather forced the cancellation of a bonfire in Floradorp on New Year’s Eve itself, but the fire was lit despite the ban. This year, officials are urging strict compliance with the decision to light fires early. The municipality said it expects organizers to follow the revised schedule.