Netherlands NYE violence

[i4got]

Anyone based over there got any insights as to what is going on?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3r1lx75nl8o

Looks like two different issues conflated in this article - fireworks safety and violence against police?

[Earthdweller]

Two dead and a historic church in Amsterdam burnt to the ground as well as dozens of cars

Hundreds of riot police on duty and lots of violent attacks on police

Not good

[NoPackDrill]

I’ve twice been in Den Haag for New Year, and the fireworks are extraordinary and extraordinary unsafe. Probably be there again 26-27 New Year.

I particularly enjoyed people gaffer-taping really large rockets to street furniture and then igniting them . . !

But no hint of malice or deliberate damage that I witnessed.

[is-uk]

It spread far beyond the Netherlands.

https://archive.ph/9fyxe

https://archive.ph/wQR4o

[Gargamel]

It’s a very small minority, I live central Amsterdam near the Westerkerk. NYE is always chaotic, mostly it’s just normal people chucking fireworks in metal bins or lighting them on the bridges with a small crowd watching. Fun, disorderly but relatively safe and for 99% of folks that’s the NYE experience.

Then you have a 1% who drive to Germany, buy big amounts, make homemade launchers and have a firework fight against the other people.

There are substantial accidents every year, I think 10 kids lost function in a hand before we even got to NYE. Now we have a couple of boys dead, a burned down land mark and a (non front line Police Union Member) stating it’s unprecedented. (It isn’t). However Fireworks will be illegal in 2026 and honestly given the way a few folks behave it’s not surprising.

[RizzoTheRat]

We had several hours of people setting off those massive beer crate sized multiple firework boxes all along our road in The Hague. Nothing malicious like deliberately throwing fireworks at people, but also not much regard for safety with several people holding on to lit roman candles.

Dropped a mate off earlier at his place in Benoordenhout, which is pretty nice neighbourhood, and there was a pile of spent firework boxes and a burned out moped in the road. The Dutch just go nuts with fireworks at new year and accidents happen. I can quite belive that the church burning down was someone being stupid rather than someone deliberately trying to set it on fire.



5:45 and the fireworks have just started up again.

Edited by RizzoTheRat on Thursday 1st January 16:48

[dukeboy749r]

And there was me thinking we had it ‘bad’ - a few fireworks pre-midnight and then mostly quiet and nary a rogue out, at least in this part of town in Essex.

[RizzoTheRat]

This actually seemed a bit quieter than last year.

[Spare tyre]

From today I believe the sale of private fireworks is banned in Holland

Just info not a reason

[Gargamel]

Spare tyre said:

From today I believe the sale of private fireworks is banned in Holland

Just info not a reason

Setting off Fireworks has been banned in Amsterdam since 2021. There is no policing of it.

Will be interesting to see what happens.

[spikeyhead]

I lived in the Netherlands for 18 months about 15 years ago. I learnt that the Dutch do like to party, that they are mostly very well behaved, but the police don't mess about, and so there's a lot of people there that really don't like the police. I dare say that the 14 year old lad I saw being repeatedly kicked by four policemen will grow up also hating the police. His crime? riding a bicycle without lights.

[Sheets Tabuer]

Did anyone complain on facebook about their dog?

[hidetheelephants]

Gargamel said:

Spare tyre said:

From today I believe the sale of private fireworks is banned in Holland

Just info not a reason

Setting off Fireworks has been banned in Amsterdam since 2021. There is no policing of it.

Will be interesting to see what happens.

Same in Scotland, it's illegal but simply isn't policed; instead of sensible measures to make it harder for Nedrick and chums to get fireworks like banning corner shops etc obtaining licences to sell explosives for a few weeks a year we get 'no firework zones" which are pointless as it's policed as well as everything else.

[RizzoTheRat]

Several cities have banned for for a few years now but as above it's not enforced. From now on the sale of them is banned...so everyone will just buy them from Germany or Belgium instead!

Sheets Tabuer said:

Did anyone complain on facebook about their dog?

I went to a fireworks display at the beach some years back and there was a guy walking his dog along the promenade. It wasn't bothered at all

Edited by RizzoTheRat on Thursday 1st January 21:23

[DeadShed]

Sheets Tabuer said:

Did anyone complain on facebook about their dog?

If they don’t want their dog setting off fireworks they should lock the matches away.