Faces of Rotterdam’s multiculturalism

Photos of Rotterdam Unlimited

Carnival comes to Europe on the streets of Rotterdam. This is the largest festival in the Netherlands, where colour meets energy and explodes across the city.

The Rotterdam Unlimited festival is held over a whole weekend with a drum battle, free outdoor concerts, poetry readings, and art events. But the street parade on the Saturday afternoon is the highlight.

Yesterday I wrote all about the Rotterdam Unlimited festival and you can read that post to find out more about the history.

And while the development of the festival and the work involved to put it together every year are very interesting, it’s the spectacle that really draws you in.

A lot of work goes into the costumes and the floats that are paraded through the main streets of Rotterdam each year. Some groups work intensely for just a few days to prepare while others are more gradual, taking almost two months to pull everything together.

When you see them all, dazzling in the sunlight, it doesn’t matter. They’re all spectacular and for several hours they snake through the city streets like a musical rainbow serpent.

The crowds of onlookers along the footpaths are here for a show. They understand the significance of the event – the celebration of diversity and of the assimilation of people from a new world colonised by the Dutch but always true to its own culture.

The people drinking and cheering as the floats pass are, by the act of being here, part of this acceptance of multiculturalism.

But, let’s be honest… they’re mainly here for the show.

And so, with that in mind, let me share some more photos from the street parade of Rotterdam Unlimited.

>> More info here about the Rotterdam Unlimited Festival

Time Travel Turtle was a guest of Rotterdam Marketing but the opinions, over-written descriptions and bad jokes are his own.

To help you plan your trip to the Netherlands:

• What to expect in the historic centre of Amsterdam
• The best art museums in Amsterdam
• Explore the countryside of Van Gogh
• The incredible factory that’s now a World Heritage Site
• See the engineering genius of the Dutch firsthand
• How the Dutch protected their capital by controlling water
• For architecture fans, this house will blow your mind!
• How a simple rabbit took over the world
• Visit the best windmills in the Netherlands
• How you can stay the night on a boat in Rotterdam’s port.

Let someone else do the work for you:

You may also want to consider taking a tour in the Netherlands, rather than organising everything on your own. It’s also a nice way to have company if you are travelling solo.

I am a ‘Wanderer’ with G Adventures and they have great Netherlands tours for the young and budget-minded.

You could consider:

• Berlin to London on a shoestring (6 days)
• Budapest to London on a shoestring (12 days)
• European Trail (26 days)

When I travel internationally, I always get insurance. It’s not worth the risk, in case there’s a medical emergency or another serious incident. I recommend you use World Nomads for your trip.