It is getting busier in our province on the Eleventh of the Eleventh. While the kick-off of the carnival season five years ago was celebrated almost exclusively by carnival associations, there are now tens of thousands of people on the streets to celebrate. In Den Bosch it has been just as busy on the Eleventh of the Eleventh since the pandemic as during the parade, but now the crowds are also starting to increase in the other Brabant cities.
The increase in the number of visitors on 11-11 is mainly visible in large cities such as Tilburg, Breda and Eindhoven. “Everyone needed a party after corona,” explains Tim van Ham, spokesperson for the Tilburg Carnival Foundation. “But in that first year, the catering industry did nothing extra. Then we suddenly had 7,500 people at our party on the Heuvel. Meanwhile, the cafes and bars on various Tilburg squares are also going big.”
The carnival season in Tilburg kicked off ten years ago in the Schouwburg. “There was room for 750 people,” explains Tilburg catering entrepreneur Alex Boonmann. “Then it was moved outside, each time for more people. At the last edition, there were ten thousand people in the city, spread over Piusplein, Korte Heuvel, Stadhuisstraat and Heuvel.”
If we have ten thousand fewer visitors, we will not notice it.”
In Den Bosch, the Eleventh of the Eleventh party has been celebrated since 2010 and has grown enormously since then. It is now so big that more people come to 11-11 than on the Sunday or Monday of Carnival. “We are already at the top,” says Otto van den Groenendaal of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN) Den Bosch. “Oeteldonk is full and there is no more room to grow.”
This year, a party will be held in Uden for the first time on 11/11. “I only applaud such an initiative,” says Van den Groenendaal. “If we have ten thousand fewer visitors, we will not notice this in terms of turnover. There will be much more turnover and people will be at the bar earlier.”
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While there is no room for improvement in Den Bosch, Eindhoven wants to grow. “The celebration of 11-11 started at the Stratumseind,” says Siegobert Jansen of KHN Eindhoven. “It grew out of control there. Then they asked me if it couldn’t be a little bigger.”
No sooner said than done, because the party continued to grow. “The period after corona has certainly been an engine for growth. People needed solidarity.” It has now grown into a big party on the Market. “I think there were between three and five thousand people last year. We expect it to be even busier this year. Ten thousand would be very nice this year,” Jansen says hopefully.
With respect for the traditions that belong to the carnival celebration.”
While the catering industry is happy with the growing crowds in the city centers, there are also places where the party is kept small. Consciously, according to Ad Koopman, chairman of the Brabant Carnival Federation: “I don’t know whether growth is desirable. You want a celebration of 11-11 where you can show your traditions. You don’t need people from outside for that.”
But Koopman indicates that he does not want to exclude anyone: “Everyone is welcome. It is an accessible party. The fact that it will be busier is only a nice thing. But with respect for the traditions that belong to the carnival party.”
This story arises from a collaboration between five Brabant broadcasters: Studio040, Zuidwest TV, Omroep Tilburg, Dtv and Omroep Brabant.