Amsterdam flags fluttering in the streets from Hoofddorp to Blaricum and Lelystad, for example? The capital wants the 750th anniversary of Amsterdam to be celebrated throughout the metropolis. In fact, the birthday on October 27, 2025 must be a celebration for and by all Amsterdammers, anywhere in the world, and everyone who has a connection with the birthday person.
Mayor Femke Halsema has asked the other 29 municipalities in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area and the provinces of North Holland and Flevoland to actively celebrate the anniversary in less than three years. A birthday with potentially 2.5 million guests. “It is the idea that it will be a celebration of the entire metropolis. We are looking for an active contribution from the region and the various municipalities. Many activities are conceivable, whereby the metropolis can also make very visible what it is and what binds them,” she said recently in a meeting with colleagues in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (AMA).
‘We don’t impose anything’
It is an invitation to everyone and every municipality that has a connection with the birthday person. Of course there are also people who have nothing to do with the capital, they can ignore the invitation.
And Amsterdam realizes that it can also be experienced as a step too far from a dominant city in the metropolitan area. Because don’t other cities have their own birthday? For example, in Weesp, which had just merged with Amsterdam, there were critical voices on the last anniversary a few weeks ago when the Amsterdam flag was flying at the town hall.
The mayor says that he will take these feelings into account: it is not the intention that Amsterdam determines whether and where the parties are held. It should be seen more as a no-obligation request. “Of course we do not impose anything on other municipalities. They do not have to fly the Amsterdam flag in 2025,” says Elisabeth Jepma on behalf of the municipality. “But of course you can.”
Clear connection with Amsterdam
There is a suspicion that the feeling of 750 years of Amsterdam will not stop at the A10 ring road. “It is a celebration for everyone who has a connection with Amsterdam: residents of the city, the region, but also in the rest of the Netherlands and worldwide,” says Jepma. “In practice, most Amsterdammers outside the city limits often live in the metropolitan region. It is therefore a celebration in which we like to involve the region around the city. Initiatives are of course welcome, provided they have a clear connection with Amsterdam.”
It is not yet known how the other municipalities will be enthusiastic. However, there are already registrations from outside the city. But it doesn’t get any more concrete yet. More details about how and what will be announced later this summer. Soon Halsema will give a presentation about the celebration to the surrounding municipalities.