This New Year’s Eve is looking pretty bleak - no parties or events, no family get-togethers, and no fireworks shows. Even the national countdown event that was supposed to take place in Amsterdam on December 31 has been cancelled as a result of the strict lockdown measures announced by Prime Minister Mark Rutte on December 15.
While many have decided to make the best of a lousy situation, others have come up with an admittedly long-term solution: a big New Year celebration in June!
The news of the imminent coronavirus vaccine, and the hope announced by the Dutch government to vaccinate the majority of adults by June 1, means that many people are looking towards summer and already putting together plans for all the things they’d like to do. While June might feel very far away at the moment, the prospect of being able to return to “normal” is too big to ignore.
And so the VCP - the national umbrella organisation for trade unions - is proposing that the Netherlands celebrates the new year at the end of June.
While the VCP acknowledges that this plan relies heavily on the coronavirus vaccine, how effective it is, and how quickly and comprehensively it can be rolled out across the country, they hope that the idea of being able to come together and celebrate something in the summer could give people hope now that the country is living in lockdown for the Christmas holiday.
Marc de Natris, chairman of the CMHF - a union representing workers across eight different sectors, including law enforcement, (health)care, and education - told De Telegraaf people are in need of a little bit of good news: “Wouldn't it be great if in the coming year we could celebrate the midterm on June 30 or July 1 together - not the beginning but the midterm. A summer party, with or without fireworks, in which we chase away the angry corona ghosts. It could be a good prospect in the dark days around Christmas."