Two people have died this New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands in accidents related to fireworks, while national hospitals have experienced the busiest day of the year due to the flow of people injured for the same reason. The vast majority were minors and, in half of the cases, simple passers-by. Last night there were fires in different municipalities of the country that forced residents to evacuate. In other places, too, emergency services have been attacked with different gunpowder devices.
. But starting December 31, 2026, consumer-use fireworks will be prohibited. Only flares and small firecrackers may be used, although cities and towns will continue to organize official shows.
One of those who died on New Year’s Eve was a 38-year-old man, a resident of the town of Aalsmeer, located about twenty kilometers from Amsterdam. The police received the notification around 2:15 a.m. A little earlier, around midnight, another person had died in a similar accident in Nijmegen, in the east of the country. Agents are investigating the circumstances of both events.
. On the other hand, at the Rotterdam Eye Hospital there were already 14 patients with eye damage at the beginning of the morning. Unlike previous years, 85% of the victims are minors, according to public television NOS. The youngest hospitalized is a five-year-old child, and half of those affected were passersby or people who were watching the fireworks without setting them off. This information could explain the entry of minors. According to a survey carried out by the national news agency ANP, emergency services in large cities were the busiest. In the HagaZiekenhuis hospital alone, which has two locations, in the cities of The Hague and Zoetermeer, 65 wounded were treated. It is double what it was a year ago.
A great business
Despite doctors’ warnings, fireworks are one of the great Dutch hobbies to ring in the new year. It is also a big business. In 2025, sales will reach a record figure of around €129 million, according to the Dutch Pyrotechnics Association. Last year, it was 118 million euros. The same association not only considers the ban a “financial setback for the sector,” but maintains that many citizens use fireworks appropriately, and “a small group of people have ruined it for the rest.”
This morning there was another serious incident, this time in Amsterdam, which is being analyzed by the police. It is the fire, declared shortly after midnight, in the Vondelkerk church. The tower and part of the central area have collapsed, as has a large part of the roof, and barely the walls remain standing. Firefighters have worked for hours to extinguish the flames, and due to the strong wind, surrounding homes have been evacuated. The church was built in the 19th century according to the design of the architect Pierre Cuypers, also responsible for the Rijksmuseum and Amsterdam Central Station. Used as a temple until the end of the seventies, it was now used to celebrate events.
Firefighters attacked with fireworks
In other neighborhoods of the capital, the riots were due to the fact that several people decided to light the traditional New Year’s Eve bonfire in the street despite the City Council’s prohibition. Riot police intervened several times, according to a spokesman, because the fire was too close to houses and posed a danger to the neighborhood. Elsewhere in the country, law enforcement and firefighters were attacked with fireworks while doing their jobs. On her X account, Nine Kooiman, president of the Dutch Police Union, has written that she has heard of “unprecedented violence.” “[La violencia se ha registrado] Here in Amsterdam, where I work, but I see it all over the country. “Many explosives and fireworks directed at colleagues.”
Another of the festive modalities, which is not subject to pyrotechnic regulation and depends on municipal regulations, is the so-called carbide shot. It consists of causing strong controlled explosions using calcium carbide and water in drums, especially old milk jugs, which are plugged with a soccer ball. In the province of Drenthe, in the northeast of the country, several people have suffered serious injuries from these shots. There, this type of activity is recognized as part of the intangible heritage.
In 2025, 20 municipalities banned fireworks, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Arnhem, Nijmegen and Haarlem. On the other hand, more than a hundred have pyrotechnic-free zones, but even where they are not allowed, they continue to be lit. It happens, among others, in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Utrecht. Last July, Congress passed the Safe New Year Act (Veilige jaarwisseling), because the current situation places excessive pressure on safety, health and the environment. Last year, more than 1,100 people went to emergency rooms and primary care centers with injuries, slightly less than in 2023.
