A festival on the Ring: the A10 is dedicated to the 750th anniversary of Amsterdam. What is there to experience? How are they responding to the expected heat? And what if you couldn’t get a ticket?
The festival on the Ring is seen as one of the highlights of the anniversary year. On the longest day of the year, all kinds of festive activities are organized on a car-free ring of 15 kilometers.
Interest in the event is high. All 280,000 available tickets were sold out within a few hours. But it is getting too hot, so the number has been reduced to 253,000.
Amsterdammers do not get priority for the free tickets. “Whether you live there, have lived there, or simply feel connected to the city: everyone is welcome,” says Sietse Bakker, program director of Amsterdam 750.
Warding, smearing, clothing
It remains to be seen whether everyone wants to come, as temperatures can rise to 30 degrees. That is why a standard heat protocol is being used. There are extra water points everywhere on the site and visitors are allowed to bring plastic bottles to refill. Furthermore, there is free sunscreen, extra first aid posts and sufficient shade in a number of initiatives.
“It can get very hot on the asphalt. It retains the heat and radiates it,” warns Boris Kingma, thermophysiologist at research institute TNO. “It is therefore extremely important to wear light clothing, drink well and, above all, listen to your body.”
Due to the unique location and the expected crowds, time slots have been chosen: a morning part (10:00 AM – 2:00 PM), a day part (3:00 PM – 10:00 PM) and an evening part (6:00 PM – 10:00 PM). Between the first time zones there is an hour break during which there is no programming and the catering closes its doors.
Visitors are guided to the exit by security guards and volunteers to make way for the next group. “It is also a matter of decency and giving each other something,” says Bakker. A ticket is required to enter the site for the western and southern zones. The eastern part is freely accessible in the morning.
Kris Kross Amsterdam
Anyone entering the West zone of the Ring can visit the Heineken open-air café, among other things. The Mokum 750 beer is served there especially for this occasion.
You can also follow a drawing session, a djembe workshop or a fashion show. There is also a grand performance by Kris Kross Amsterdam. For music lovers of other genres, there are also salsa dances, for example.
An Amsterdam festival is not complete without folk singers. During the Music Festival on the Square, Danny de Munk, René Froger, Yves Berendse, Mart Hoogkamer and Marco Schuitmaker will sing a number of songs especially for this occasion. The presentation is in the hands of Jan Smit.
Marrying and raving on the highway
In the South zone of the Ring you can go to a classical performance by the Concertgebouw, play beach volleyball and see twenty bridal couples say yes to each other. Mayor Femke Halsema will take the first couple as wedding official.
In the evening, this part of the Ring transforms into an open-air club. Party organization Audio Obscura, known for events in unique locations such as the tunnel under the Rijksmuseum and Central Station, is responsible for the music until 10:00 PM. For those who have not finished partying by then, there is still a night program. You can dance in various locations in the city until the early hours.
Anyone who does not have a ticket and lives outside Amsterdam is advised not to come to the capital for the festival, according to the organization. Heavy traffic is expected on the roads and in public transport to Amsterdam.
What about the quality of the asphalt?
Even the highway itself has been considered. In collaboration with Rijkswaterstaat, tests were carried out in advance on test asphalt to see how it reacts to soft drinks, frying fat and footwear such as heels. If something does go wrong, a team is ready to carry out emergency repairs. “You can’t think of anything so crazy that it hasn’t been thought of,” says program director Sietse Bakker.
Although an event of this magnitude is not without nuisance, especially on a highway such as the A10, the organization hopes that the festive mood will be good. “The road has been closed more often this year for maintenance,” says Bakker. “Now it belongs to all of us for a while, to celebrate together that Amsterdam has existed for 750 years.”