Amsterdam asks people to avoid city center on King’s Day due to overcrowding fears
With King’s Day falling on a Saturday this year, Amsterdam is bracing for potentially record-breaking crowds and is advising people to stay away from the city center and surrounding neighborhoods. The office of Mayor Femke Halsema issued an appeal on Thursday urging residents and visitors to celebrate King’s Day locally this year, citing significant concerns about overcrowding.
Officials fear that the large crowds could impede access for emergency services in critical situations. The municipality is worried that the sheer volume of people could compromise the accessibility first responders need.
“The number of people in Amsterdam who go to the city, events and flea markets is increasing every year. In addition, King’s Day is on a Saturday, just like last year, which means that people are expected to stay in the city longer,” the mayor’s office stated.
Normally, the annual holiday would be organized on April 27, the birthday of King Willem-Alexander. However, when the date falls on a Sunday, the national holiday is celebrated a day earlier instead.
“For example, it was so busy on the Westerstraat and surrounding area during King’s Day last year that the municipality had to close the access roads to the Westerstraat, and issued appeals to people telling them to no longer go to the Jordaan,” referring to the neighborhood just west of the Canal Ring which has become among the most jammed areas during the holiday.
Still, even though hundreds of thousands of people descended on the Amsterdam city center last year, police in the capital said King’s Day was celebrated “without significant incident.” Police staffing levels were very high, and officers quickly intervened at the first moment of violence to prevent any escalation. It was “comparable to a normal Friday or Saturday evening,” a police spokesperson said.
The weather is expected to be partly cloudy, reaching a high of 16 degrees Celsius, meaning it could be slightly warmer than last year with almost no chance of rain. It drizzled in the capital at various points a year earlier.
But even with a jammed city center last year, with national rail service NS running longer trains more frequently, perhaps the worst incident came only towards the end of the evening. A 22-year-old man named Abdüssamed E. was accused of driving into a crowd on Prinsengracht and fleeing the scene, leaving several injured.
The Zaandam man was convicted on Wednesday and sentenced to 150 hours of community service, and a fine of 500 euros. That was the same punishment recommended by prosecutors.
Mayor Halsema and the coalition of aldermen leading city policy have made overcrowding and overtourism one of their key political issues in recent years. Initiatives include increased limits on hotel development, reduction in commercial overnight stays at residences, and preventing hotels from jamming rooms full of sleeping pods to increase guest numbers.
Some of the policies have been divisive, such as attempts to relocate portions of the Red Light District to a proposed Erotic Center in Amsterdam-Zuid, and limits to opening hours of businesses in De Wallen. Additionally, the city was mocked and criticized for a “Stay Away” advertising campaign it ran to try and dissuade British bachelor and bachelorette parties from visiting the capital
