Grave clears after 25,000 attend Sinterklaas arrival
About 25,000 people attended the national Sinterklaas arrival in Grave, exceeding the municipality’s forecast. The town centre was full by early afternoon, but officials said the crowd caused no additional disruption.
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Grave’s town centre had largely emptied by Saturday afternoon after about 25,000 people attended the Netherlands’ national Sinterklaas arrival, more than the municipality had forecast. The festivities ended at about 2pm, and most visitors then left, a Land van Cuijk municipal spokesperson told ANP.
The municipality had expected 17,000 to 20,000 visitors. At 1.30pm, it urged people not to come into the centre because it was full. The spokesperson said the larger-than-expected crowd had not caused additional disruption.
The spokesperson described the event as a “fantastic Sinterklaas celebration”, citing happy children, enthusiastic visitors and proud residents. Mayor Marieke Moorman praised residents, business owners and volunteers for working together to make the event special.
A pro-Zwarte Piet activist group of about 35 people said on X that it had attended. The municipality said the group’s action had not been announced in advance, but it was allowed into the centre on condition that its members followed the event’s rules.
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