Video: Netherlands welcomes New Year with fireworks, bonfires

Over 40,000 people packed into an area around Rotterdam’s Erasmus Bridge to watch some 4,000 kilograms of fireworks explode in the sky during one of the most elaborate New Year’s Eve countdowns in the Netherlands. The eight-minute long display was the centerpiece of commercial network RTL 4’s countdown to 2016. Meanwhile, 10,000 people watched the fireworks display in Amsterdam at the Scheepvaart Museum. Public broadcaster NOS showed the celebrations live. Signs welcoming the European Union member states were on display all over the area, as the Netherlands takes over the EU presidency in January. Thousands more filed into Dam Square in the city center to light off their own firecrackers, and pop champagne in front of the Royal Palace. Another 10,000 turned out to watch Mayor Jozias van Aartsen get the fireworks display started in Den Haag. He said he loved seeing so many people turn out for the display, and he “especially hopes for a peaceful new year,” according to broadcaster Omroep West. Thousands also turned out in Duindorp and Scheveningen to watch the annual bonfires there, where massive stacks of wood pallets are set ablaze, RTL reported. Duindorp took the victory this year for largest bonfire, although technically Scheveningen’s wooden tower was taller. It is not clear if Duindorp beat its own world record from a year earlier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5QQSusLV2E