The Bloemencorso of the Bollenstreek is the largest celebration in Spring in The Neth-erlands.This colourful, fragrant spectacle is celebrated annually by more than one mil-lion visitors. It had been canceled for the last two years due to Covid-19, but we are finally able to report that the parade will ride again in all its glory from Noordwijk to Haarlem on Saturday 23rd April.

In addition, the journey will carry a celebratory spring message as Bloemencorso Bol-lenstreek will mark its 75th year. The festival will last almost one week. All events showcase the beautiful colors of spring flowers such as tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths in the bulb growing area.



Float Concept Map of China Culture Center Den Haag 
Design: Kees Tak
Decorators: Handball Club Foreholte

As the only international institution invited to participate this year, China Cultural Cen-ter Den Haag will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic re-lations between China and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and also introduce Chi-nese Zodiac Culture to Dutch people through two well-designed floats.

2022 is the Year of the Tiger in the lunar calendar. The first float is decorated with tiger figure as the core element, which stands for justice, bravery and majesty, indicating that the haze of the pandemic in the past two years will be dispelled and social life will be back on track; the second float shows the bright future of deepening exchanges between China and the Netherlands: the windmill symbolizing the Netherlands and the lantern symbolizing China are connected by a flower bridge, which is also the epitome of the continuous deepening of exchanges and cooperation between China and the Netherlands in various fields. On 23rd April there will also be live performances of Chi-nese drums on the floats, as well as Chinese and Dutch dancers in traditional Chinese and Dutch costumes, adding more dynamics to the float parade.

The main highlight of the event is the parade on Saturday when the colourful floats and the luxury vehicles decorated in masses of flowers travel the 42 km route. The addition of cheerful music from the marching bands and amusement on and around the floats all contribute to the excitement of the event as experienced by the stream of visitors from home and abroad.

If you will be there watching the parade and snap a photo of these two floats by China Cultural Center Den Haag, please share on Instagram or Facebook and tag @China Cultural Center Den Haag. We will select five lucky participants and send our pre-sents. The winners will be notified by private messages.

Events

1.Floats decoration
From Wednesday 20th to the morning 22nd April you can watch the art of decorating the floats in De Klinkenberg tennis hall in Sassenheim. Hundreds of volunteers are busily attaching the millions of flowers onto the floats. With luck you may get a chance to give them a hand.

2.Illuminated Parade
On Friday evening you can have a close-up view of the parade in a different light. At 9 p.m. the floats will be illuminated with thousands of lights as they drive through the charming village of Noordwijkerhout. Local businesses meanwhile organize outdoor activities.

ROUTE ILLUMINATED PARADE NOORDWIJKERHOUT
·21.15 hrs Herenweg
·21.20 hrs Dorpsstraat
·21.25 hrs Havenstraat (White church)
·21.30 hrs Koninginneweg
·21.40 hrs Viaductweg
·21.50 hrs Maandagse Wetering
·22.05 hrs End point Gieterij

3.The Parade
You could experience the parade from one of the seated grandstands where you can sit comfortably with an excellent view and watch the floats passing by. Grandstands can be found in Sassenheim, Lisse and Hillegom. Add a lunch, organized walk through the bulb fields or a workshop to complete the experience. 

4.Exhibition of the Floats
The world famous parade ends in the historical city of Haarlem. The floats arrive on Saturday at the end of the day. This is the moment to have a drink in cafes, take pho-tographs and enjoy music and other amusement. The party ends at 5 p.m. when we wave farewell to the floats as they leave Haarlem.