Cycling races and King's Night party: These events are scrapped due to NATO summit

The NATO summit in The Hague in June has particularly resulted in many canceled or altered cycling races, but several festivals have also been scrapped. This is evident from an overview provided by municipalities in a survey by ANP. Tens of thousands of police officers will be deployed to protect world leaders in The Hague, which means there are not enough people left to ensure that events run smoothly. Although many events can continue, there are exceptions.

One of the cycling races canceled is the ZLM Tour. This affects the municipalities of Borsele and Kapelle in Zeeland and Oosterhoud and Meijerijstad in Noord-Brabant. The NK Cycling was to be held in the municipalities of Nijmegen and Berg en Dal, but has been moved to Ede. The time trial championship has been moved from Laren in Gelderland (municipality of Lochem) to Friesland. Veenendaal-Veenendaal, De Luba Ladies Classic (Noordwijk), the Alfa Bier Limburg Trofee (Stein), the Omloop van Borsele, the Omloop van Valkenswaard, the Omloop der Kempen (Veldhoven), and Arno Wallaard Memorial (Vijfheerenlanden) have all been canceled. Other cycling races are on a shortened course, where less security is needed.

In Zutphen, the first ever King’s Night party in the city, on the night before the celebration of King’s Day, has been canceled. This also applies to a new festival in Boxtel. “We advised the organization to apply for the permit for this festival in 2026 instead of 2025. This is due to police officers going on leave after the NATO summit,” said the Noord-Brabant municipality. In Den Helder, an event wanted to expand, but this has been postponed for a year. In Geertruidenberg, a new boxing gala was canceled.

In Zoetermeer, no fewer than eight festivals have been canceled: Love & Peace on May 31 and June 28, the ZoeterMeerFestival on June 6, Stunt Movie Production on June 14, Festival City, on June 20, the Sweetlake Festival and Music on the Move on June 21, and the Sweetlake family Day on June 22. The Kaagweek, a village festival in Warmond in Zuid-Holland, has also been canceled, as has the Dweilfestival ff Blazen in Voorschoten, the Portdagen in Goedereede on Goeree-Overflakkee, and the music festival in Hillegom. In Leiden, the liberation festival will be smaller, and the Lakenfeesten have been moved.

The biggest crowd pullers in the Netherlands will still happen, such as the Amstel Gold Race in April, the TT of Assen in the weekend after the NATO summit, and the Nijmegen Vierdaagse in July.