”For some people, carnival is associated with scantily clad women, alcohol, and violence, but it is actually a very lively, social event where people meet each other and dance together”
Door Yvonne Keunen, Algemeen Dagblad
Dyonna Benett (25) submitted a request in September to have the Rotterdam Summer Carnival added to the national list of intangible cultural heritage. She grew up with the Summer Carnival. “The continuity of the event is better guaranteed if it is added to the heritage list,” she said last year. The Caribbean carnival has been celebrated in the Netherlands since 1983.
The Summer Carnival is of great importance to cultural identity and social cohesion, according to the Knowledge Center for Intangible Heritage in the Netherlands. Many of the participants in the Summer Carnival are introduced at a young age. Young people learn from older generations how to make their own costumes and floats, and how to organize their own groups.
The Summer Carnival will take place this coming weekend, with the highlight being the street parade, which attracts around 750,000 spectators.
Other events on the heritage list include various flower parades, the Nijmegen Four Days March, the Passion Plays in Tegelen, and the Midwinterhorn blowing in Overijssel and Gelderland.
