Many residents of Den Helder make no secret of their love for the city. Some Beachcombers go even further: they immortalize the city or its eye-catchers on their bodies. Citymarketing Den Helder is looking for people who have had the Lange Jaap or another typical Helder image tattooed on their skin. NH Helpt is also investigating.
Christiaan Verhoef from city marketing Den Helder spoke to NH about the search for those typical tattoos from Den Helder.
City Marketing Den Helder started the campaign ‘In Love with Den Helder’ around Valentine’s Day last year, says Christiaan Verhoef from the marketing agency. According to him, it was such a success that the campaign will be continued this year. The company is particularly looking for tattoos of beachcombers who wear Den Helder on their skin.
“We found out that quite a few people have a tattoo of Den Helder,” he explains. And those people appear to be more than willing to share a photo of their Helderse tattoo: things are going crazy, Verhoef notices.
Area code or a zip code on your body
“We have already received a lot of nice registrations, including really nice photos.” When the promotion ends, the intention is that the tattoos will be immortalized by a professional photographer. These photos will then hang in an exhibition.
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Lange Jaap lighthouse is particularly popular, but also the word ‘Den Helder’ or the number combination 0223, the city’s prefix. Postal codes, the Jutter statue and the water tower are also regularly immortalized.
According to Verhoef, the fact that so many residents have a tattoo of their city is typical for the population. “People who were born in Den Helder have a passion for the city and have a real bond with it. They actually don’t want to leave here.”
Tall Jaap has come home
He also knows beachcombers who have moved to another municipality and therefore got a tattoo in Den Helder. “Den Helder is really their pride, it is always the place”, where according to him the Lange Jaap is a symbol of coming home. “People have immortalized that feeling of home on their bodies.”
No tattoo, but typical Helderse stories or items? According to Verhoef, they are also very welcome.
On NH Helpt Read how to register a photo of your Den Helderse tattoo.