What was supposed to be a fun party resulted in destruction, dozens of arrests, and €1 million in damages. In the Netflix documentary The Real Project X, various people involved look back on Merthe’s out-of-control birthday party.
On September 6, 2012, the then fifteen-year-old Merthe from Haren in Groningen created a Facebook event for her birthday party. She invited 78 friends but accidentally made the event public. The invitation was now visible not only to the invitees but to all Facebook users who could, in turn, invite others.
Within a day, 16,000 people were invited, and 3,500 partygoers signed up. “Will be a fun party on the 21st, but 3,500 people,” Merthe wrote on Twitter. But as that number kept increasing, the girl found it a bit scary. After a conversation with her father, she removed the invitation for the party.
The event was shortly thereafter recreated by someone else: Merthe’s sixteenth birthday was hijacked. The event was titled Project X Haren, a reference to the American film Project X (2012) about a few teenagers who organize a big party.
On September 21, approximately four thousand young people appeared in Haren, a municipality with fewer than twenty thousand inhabitants. The first visitors were in good spirits. They even brought gifts for Merthe. But when it turned out that there was no party at all, boredom struck.
When the police wanted to guide the thousands of young people towards the exit, the situation escalated. Cars were set on fire, shops were looted, and lampposts and traffic signs were destroyed. 34 rioters were arrested, 36 young people and police officers were injured, and the damage amounted to almost €1 million.
Netflix documentary shows how Project X Haren got out of hand
‘Event was scary and even traumatic’
The Real Project X director Alex Wood lives in the United Kingdom but also learned about the story in 2012. “It was big news here,” the Brit tells NU.nl. “The event in Haren is and remains an important moment in the history of the internet. It has shown that social media can be powerful means of communication that must be monitored.”
The now 28-year-old Merthe tells her story on camera for the first time in the documentary. Merthe, who currently lives in Dubai, writes on Instagram that the story “doesn’t define” her, but that it is “still a part” of who she is.
In addition to Merthe, director Wood speaks with many other people involved. For example, a concerned neighbor speaks. But also a municipal council member who unsuccessfully urged every road to Haren to be closed. And the night mayor, who offers the municipality to organize an alternative party. An offer that Mayor Rob Bats dismisses.
“You could tell that it had made an impact on people, especially those who came from the area,” says Wood. “It is hard to imagine that something like that, which was scary or even traumatic for many people, could take place in such a quiet village.”
Police thought it wouldn’t get so big
Thomas Boeschoten, as a social media expert, is a member of the commission that, under the leadership of former Mayor Job Cohen, investigated how the municipality and police assessed and handled the situation.
“Twitter was well monitored by the police. Based on that information, it was assumed that it wouldn’t get so big. But the conversations about Project X Haren were held on other social media platforms and in physical places where young people come together, such as at school or in nightlife,” says Boeschoten to NU.nl.
“The authorities were therefore using the wrong sources of information. That also had to do with the lack of knowledge about social media.”
It is clear that a lot went wrong. The conclusion of the Cohen committee is therefore that the authorities have failed. For example, no possible scenarios were worked out prior to the party. There was no plan in case young people would actually come to Haren in large numbers.
‘Municipality of Haren misled young people’
Boeschoten and Wood both state that most young people came to Haren to party, not to riot. “The young people were really looking forward to the party. There was a hype,” says director Wood.
The fact that young people have certain expectations is also a result of the communication from the municipality of Haren. For example, Boeschoten recalls a serious mistake made by the municipality.
In the run-up to the party, a spokesperson for Mayor Bats told the press that the municipality was in the process of organizing an alternative party. But that party never happened. “In fact, the mayor did not even know weeks after the party that the spokesperson had said that to the press. The young people who expected a fun party were misled by this.”
The Real Project X can be seen on Netflix and is part of the eight-part documentary series Trainwreck.