Amsterdam climate march expected to draw 20,000 on Saturday

The Amsterdam office of municipality, police, and Public Prosecution Service expects a "large number" of participants in the climate march in the capital on Saturday. According to Mayor Femke Halsema, the organizers expect 20,000 demonstrators.

The organization itself indicates that more than 20,000 people have signed up. It hopes that this will be the largest climate march ever in the Netherlands and that over 40,000 people will come. The largest climate march in the Netherlands to date was in March 2019, with 40,000 participants in Amsterdam. "Then it rained terribly, and it was freezing," said a spokesperson for the organization.

Over 20,000 is a large number in terms of pre-registrations, according to the spokesperson. "But it remains difficult to make an estimate. Not everyone who goes registers. But on the other hand, some people register but decide not to come on the day for all sorts or reasons."

Due to the increase in coronavirus infections, participants are urged to stay 1.5 meters away from each other. Social distancing is not mandatory during the demonstration, and the police and enforcers cannot enforce it. But the Amsterdam authorities agreed with the organization that the Cabinet's urgent advice on this will be "actively" conveyed.

To limit nuisance for residents and businesses and separate visitor flows as much as possible, crowd control measures will be deployed, and the police will supervise the demonstration. The organization must appoint an order service, which must, among other things, ensure that participants do not deviate from the agreed route. The route starts on Dam Square on the Paleiszijde, with an extension to the Monumentzijde and the Rokin if necessary, and ends in the Westerpark. The demonstration will begin at noon on Saturday and should end at 5:00 p.m.