The four-day festivities in Nijmegen were more crowded last week than last year, organizers said. In 2022, an estimated 1.5 million festival visitors came to the center of Nijmegen. Overall, 39,019 hikers took part in the 105th edition of the Vierdaagse Marches in Nijmegen.

Dit was de finale! Jullie waren even fanatiek als @Beeldfanaat, die ook dag 7 heeft vastgelegd in spectaculaire beelden. Zeven dagen achter elkaar een hele binnenstad op z’n kop mogen zetten, soms moeten we ons weer even realiseren hoe bijzonder dat eigenlijk is. 💚 pic.twitter.com/jDF5iKuMsi

— Vierdaagsefeesten (@vierdaagsefeest) July 22, 2023

According to festival director Joris Bouwmeister, achieving record numbers is not the mission of the International Nijmegen Marches. Very big and well-known crowd-pleasers are even excluded from the festival because otherwise, it would become too crowded. “We are very proud that this year’s festival was voted the event with the most pleasant atmosphere and audience. For example, during the Four Day Marches, with so many people in town, there were no more incidents than during a normal night out in Nijmegen,” he emphasized.

The Vierdaagse Marches in Nijmegen wants to remain free. This is becoming increasingly difficult due to rising costs. The festival will look for solutions together with similar events like SAIL Amsterdam, GLOW in Eindhoven, and Rotterdam Zomercarnaval, Bouwmeister said.

After seven days of the international festival in Nijmegen, teams from the waste management company DAR already have their eyes on the dirty streets in the city center of Nijmegen on Saturday. The garbage collection is already on its feet since Saturday morning and clears the streets of plastic packaging, drink cartons, and cups. However, the garbage collection team notes that since the introduction of the replaceable plastic cup, there is less garbage on the streets, NOS reported.

Reporting by ANP and NL Times