Theo Weterings said goodbye to his role as mayor Tilburg and the surrounding villages on Saturday. The doors of the town hall were wide open, rolled out with a blue carpet. Everyone was welcome in ‘The House of the City’ to say goodbye to the mayor. And the Tilburgers, who supports him, made an eager use of it.
Outside on Stadhuisplein it is a market, like every Saturday. A merchant is ready with a fruit basket. “We are always right in front of the town hall, so we would like to thank the mayor for his efforts, with some goodies,” he says. Inside the hall quickly fills itself with curious Tilburgers who seize their chance to admire the town hall from the inside and to thank the mayor personally.
With a cup of coffee in hand, they wait until their chance comes to speak to the mayor one last time in this role. In addition, a lot of appreciation sounds: “He was a modest but powerful mayor. Calm, but if it had to be, he went on,” says a woman. What he did differently than his predecessors? “He has put Tilburg on the map even more in the last eight years, also for the rest of the country,” she says.
“He helped us in a time of polarization, and that is brave.”
That Tilburg makes a name for himself between large and diverse cities such as Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague, do mention more attendees as an important legacy of this mayor. “He had an eye for diversity and was present at important moments for people from our culture, such as Keti Koti. That is important for a colorful city like Tilburg,” says one of the singers’ choir the colorful mama’s.
While Weterings listens to a performance by the Hofkapel, a man with a bunch of flowers approaches him. He is involved in the realization of the image of a girl on broken chains, the slavery monument, which was unveiled in the Spoorzone on 1 July 2022. “In a time of polarization, Weterings helped us, so that Tilburg got its own monument. That is what courage is needed and I just thanked him for that,” he says.
“It is also possible to mention a street or square in Tilburg to Weterings.”
In the meantime, Weterings herself is lying between performances, dance groups and selfies. Even the mascots of Willem II and the Tilburg Trappers seize their chance for a final photo. “It is wonderful to see that there are so many people here,” says the (now) mayor about it. He visibly enjoys the busy program. “All activities show how diverse our city is. Without all those people this profession would be very boring.”
After a doubtful one to have alerted Weterings, a woman still approaches him. “I think it’s a shame he’s going, so I told him he can always come back for” a baking coffee, “she says about their short conversation. Just like Burgemeester Stekelenburgplein or Burgemeester Bechtweg, she would not like a square or street for this mayor either. “But in the city center, so that the street reminds us of him forever.”
