With just over 250 days until the start of the jubilee year, not only is the excitement and anticipation growing, but we're also receiving more inquiries from the city. At the top of the list is that one question: 'What are we going to do?' We'll give you a peek behind the scenes of the Amsterdam 750 program office and its partners in the city who are already busy with exciting initiatives. In this article, we'll highlight a few.
The year is marked by three main events: the Opening Concert at the Ziggo Dome on October 27, 2024, the midsummer festival ‘…On The Ring!’ on June 21, 2025, and the official birthday celebration on October 27, 2025. While details about the first two are gradually emerging, plans for the 750th celebration are still pending. Additionally, there are anniversary editions of Kwaku, SAIL, and the Marathon, all of which are celebrating 50 years. We also celebrate with Ajax and GVB; they are celebrating 125 years. And there are birthday neighbors; this year Zaanstad (50) and Hilversum (600), in 2026 Almere (50), Landsmeer (750), and Diemen (800).
Municipal initiatives are breathing new life into the Amsterdam Street Football Tournament. A promising MBO program called ‘Icons of the City’ is being introduced. A exposition about the future of Amsterdam is being developed, centered around a scale model with video mapping. Furthermore, due to Amsterdam’s abundance of stories, an online platform is being created to tell 750 new and lesser-known stories throughout the year. Additionally, there will be extensive coverage of Amsterdam 750 in the media. After ‘The story of the Netherlands’ in early 2025, we can look forward to ‘The story of Amsterdam’, a Tuvalu production for NTR. Furthermore, with AT5 as a media partner, there will also be ample local coverage of all the events.
The National Ballet launches ‘Heel Amsterdam danst’ (‘All of Amsterdam Dances’). The Amsterdam Museum pays homage to the women of Amsterdam through an impressive exhibition. The City Archives showcases its programming. An official anniversary coin will be released, and the film ‘Amsterdamned 2’ will premiere, once again starring Huub Stapel. Two productions are in the works: ‘Onze Jordaan’ (‘Our Jordaan’), directed by Diederik Ebbinge among others, and ‘De Koning van Amsterdam’ (‘The King of Amsterdam’), depicting the notorious life of real estate magnate Maup Caransa. Artist Raquel van Haver creates six group portraits of significant Amsterdammers in the style of ‘De Nachtwacht’ (‘The Night Watch’). Additionally, there are numerous plans from Amsterdam residents. Already, there are 200 initiatives from residents, partly thanks to contributions from the Amsterdam 750 Foundation or ‘Mensen Maken Amsterdam’ (‘People Make Amsterdam’).
New initiatives reach us daily, and the program is expanding. For more information, check the Amsterdam 750 agenda.
