The municipality of Breda wants to prevent an overcrowded city center during carnival with a discouragement policy and a number of measures. Other large Brabant municipalities are also seeing that they are becoming increasingly busy. For example, Den Bosch is increasingly concerned with managing visitors, and Tilburg relieves the crowds by spreading people out. “If even more people show up, the relationship between safety and quality of life will come under pressure.”
For the municipality of Breda, last year’s overly busy carnival edition is a reason to discourage some people ‘from outside’ from coming to the city this year. This year the city center will also become a kind of event area, where the hustling crowd can be controlled with crowd control. The municipality can close streets and squares, turn off the music and place food stalls in a different location.
An inquiry from Omroep Brabant shows that some other large Brabant municipalities are also seeing an increasingly busy city center during carnival. In Den Bosch and Eindhoven, just like in Breda, they are busy with crowd management. In Den Bosch, for example, they see that certain areas are especially busy on Saturdays and Sundays. “For this reason, we have implemented more measures in recent years to keep visitors on track.”
“There’s no guarantee that nothing can happen.”
“We keep the crowds under control with preventive measures such as fences, signs, spreading stages and communicating via LED screens. We are well prepared, but there is no one hundred percent guarantee that nothing can happen,” says the municipality of Den Bosch. .
Revelers in Eindhoven are expected to experience the busiest carnival day on Saturday, says the municipality of Eindhoven. “This is the day of the parade and we are also taking measures. There are guides in the city center to manage visitor flows where necessary and we are installing LED screens at busy points.”
The large municipalities work with a command post, in which government services such as the municipality and the police work together. They keep an eye on the crowds with cameras in the city centers and can respond to incidents. There is also contact with employees who are close to the crowds.
In Tilburg they also see that it is becoming increasingly crowded during carnival. “It is expected that it will be busier again this year. In our city, the festivities are spread across various squares. These places are set up in such a way that they can be regulated.”
“Together we ensure that carnival can continue to exist.”
In Tilburg, Eindhoven and Den Bosch they do not think it is necessary to discourage people from coming to their city. An advisory group has been started in Den Bosch including the municipality, carnival association, residents and police. “Together we ensure that the Oeteldonk carnival can continue to exist,” the municipality says.
The municipalities of Roosendaal and Bergen op Zoom have announced that carnival does not cause unsafe crowds.