Amsterdam struggling to shake image that "anything goes" on King’s Day

Amsterdam is trying to get rid of its “anything goes” on King’s Day image, but it is a hard one to shake. Mayor Femke Halsema implemented several measures this year to try to keep the celebration more under control, NOS reports.

“At the moment, King’s Day is not always safe everywhere, not always festive, and not always typically Amsterdam; that needs to change,” Halsema told the broadcaster. The King’s Day festivities in the city center, in particular, have grown into a “large-scale, not always regulated, and difficult-to-manage open-air festival,” she said.

The police could not give NOS any exact figures regarding the number of incidents on King’s Day, but did say that the number of public violence cases doubled in two years, from 28 in 2023 to 57 last year. A low point in 2025 was a man raping an Irish woman in broad daylight on Keizersgracht while bystanders filmed him and posted the footage on social media.

This year, the municipality took measures to better distribute visitors. Festivals on the outskirts of the city will be on for longer to draw people away from the city center. The city is also enforcing the 12+1 rule for boats in the city center. Only 12 passengers and a skipper are allowed on boats in the city center canals. Those who do not comply will be fined €80 for private individuals and up to €800 for entrepreneurs.

The city also deployed extra enforcement officers to stop illegal alcohol sales and parties, as well as more first aid personnel on bicycles to reduce the pressure on ambulances.

Mick Wekrendam, responsible for crowd management during King’s Day for the municipality, is hopeful that this year will be a bit calmer. “For the past two years, King’s Day was celebrated on a Saturday. Because it is now on a Monday, we hope that alcohol consumption will be lower. More people have to go to work the next day.”