Many hundreds of people gathered on the boulevard of Scheveningen on Friday evening to watch the bonfires. A pile of wood has also been lit in nearby Duindorp. The bonfires in the seaside resort are a tradition and have been lit a day earlier this year due to the weather forecast.
The bonfire in Duindorp went on fire about five minutes earlier than Scheveningen, around 11 p.m. Especially between the Pier and the Zuiderstrand it was full of people, where one of the bonfires on the beach could be seen. There were fences along the boulevard to keep the public at a distance. Small fireworks were set off here and there. The atmosphere was friendly, people had brought drinks.
Around 11:30 p.m. Friday evening, the bonfire in Scheveningen collapsed. Prior to igniting the fire in Scheveningen, there was an extensive fireworks show on the boulevard. Mayor Jan van Zanen attended the lighting of the fires, the municipality reported on Twitter.
Text continues below the photo.
The two districts of Duindorp and Scheveningen, which are separated from each other by the Vissershaven, have been competing for the best bonfire for years. Young people from the neighborhoods worked for days to build the highest pile of wood. That went wrong at the turn of the year from 2018 to 2019. The strong wind then blew smoldering wood over Scheveningen. The shower of sparks caused more than a million euros in damage there.
Much higher than agreed
It then turned out that the two piles on the beach were much higher than had been agreed with the municipality. The towers were allowed to be 35 meters high, but the Duindorp stack was almost 49 meters high and the one in Scheveningen over 45 meters. The municipality did not do enough to enforce the rules. The investigation led to the resignation of mayor Pauline Krikke.
This year, for the first time in four years, permission has been granted by the municipality to organize the bonfires. In recent years they have not been held due to the corona measures. The stacks could be a maximum of 10 meters high, 10 meters wide and 10 meters long.
Watch the bonfire ignition (back) in the livestream below.
View a series of photos of the bonfires and fireworks display below.
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Tags: Bonfires Scheveningen Duindorp ignited fireworks show boulevard Hague
