Amsterdam mayor wants even stricter King’s Day rules next year despite safety gains

Amsterdam's tougher King's Day measures led to lower crowd levels, fewer serious incidents, and a safer celebration this year, according to Mayor Femke Halsema's evaluation sent to the city council. Despite the positive results, she is proposing even stricter rules for the 2027 festivities, with a particular focus on the city center.

Amsterdam introduced stricter King's Day rules for the first time this year, including a ban on unlicensed alcohol sales and limits on the number of people permitted on boats. According to the city, the measures made the festivities more manageable for emergency services, while feedback from local businesses and residents suggested the celebrations were better under control than in previous years.

Despite the improvements, Halsema said Amsterdam still struggles with its reputation as a place where "anything goes," warning that the behavior of some visitors continues to pose safety concerns. About 125,000 people visited the city center during King's Day, and the municipality also received complaints about too few public toilets, inadequate barriers, and disturbances caused by illegal parties.

Halsema has commissioned a study into additional measures for future King's Day celebrations. One proposal is to establish one or more designated event areas in Amsterdam's city center to help manage crowds more effectively and enable security and emergency services to coordinate their operations more efficiently. She stressed that people would still be allowed to celebrate elsewhere in the city center, but that festivities would be "better controlled."

The mayor also plans to tighten permit requirements for the city's busiest areas to encourage popular King's Day events to move to less crowded neighborhoods. "This also applies to young Amsterdam entrepreneurs who want to contribute to King's Day," Halsema wrote. "Celebrations will still be allowed, but only at locations where they can be organized safely and remain manageable under clear conditions."

Halsema also wants to impose stricter permit requirements for the busiest parts of the city in an effort to encourage popular King's Day events to relocate to less crowded areas. "This also applies to young Amsterdam entrepreneurs who want to contribute to King's Day," the mayor wrote. "Parties will still be permitted, but only in locations where they can be held safely and managed effectively, under clear conditions."