The goals set by the board are not in line with those of a large part of the volunteers, says a former volunteer. On Wednesday he finally threw in the towel and informed the board that he would no longer cooperate in the Sinterklaas entry. “The most beautiful children’s party has gotten a bit of an edge for me,” he says.

Another group of volunteers informed the board by letter four weeks ago. They say they are still waiting for a response.

On Thursday it was announced that the traditional Sinterklaas entry will not take place this year either. On NH News named namesake Orhan Polat that the organization does not yet dare to do it for ‘security reasons’, even though the current corona rules do not impose any restrictions on the arrival. “You’re dealing with vulnerable audiences and you don’t want to know that something is happening to them,” he said.

Unit

But according to Köhler and several other volunteers, within otherwise wishing to remain anonymous, there is much disagreement within the foundation. Chairman Edgar Peer, together with Polat and vice-chairman Jules Vos, would like to ‘professionalize’ the Sinterklaas arrival. A parade through the city, as was customary before corona, would no longer be possible. A major event in the Johan Cruijff Arena must take its place.

“When the 1.5 meter rule expired, I immediately said that we could do a small parade,” says Köhler. “A few trucks through the city like Unmute Us, but the board doesn’t want that. They definitely want to go to the Arena.”

According to many former volunteers, the soul disappears from the arrival of Sinterklaas when the arrival is replaced by a party in the football stadium. “The whole dynamic and the fairy tale are then destroyed”, says one of them.

“It is impossible to work together with the hard core that has been there for a long time. Every new lighting volunteer is left disillusioned,” says former chieftain Midas Meester. “There are forty captains on one ship.”

Former board member and assistant Sinterklaas Christiaan Bramer says that there is a lot going on in the Amsterdam Sinterklaas committee. “Of all the careful social activities that the foundation has set up over the years are the hospital visits,” he says. According to him, it was precisely on the basis of these diverse and special activities that the city council decided a number of years ago to significantly increase the subsidy for the foundation.

Noses in the same direction

According to Peer, who took office as chairman two months ago, especially the people who want it different from the current board, are not included. “I joined in the summer because we need to professionalise. And I think the social goals are very important. A large proportion of the volunteers do want to participate in our plans, but a small proportion do not.”

The chairman says that a parade through the current regulations is not possible and that it is impossible to know what the rules will be in a few months’ time. He does not want to say on Sunday that the event will be in the Johan Cruijff Arena on November 14, but he does say that a large event there is a possibility. “All noses on the board are in the same direction in that regard and we are now working on giving the event a good social cause.”

A statement from mayor Femke Halsema says that there is ‘always consultation’ between the municipality and the foundation, which receives an annual subsidy of 180,000 euros, but that the Sinterklaas committee ‘has decided not to let the parade through’. The traditional parade was canceled last year. Then the arrival of Sinterklaas in the city was broadcast on AT5.