FAQ: Nautical

Why is the route on the Herengracht and in this particular direction?

Only a limited amount of routes through the city centre are possible. During talks in February 2024, with the City of Amsterdam, Nautisch Toezicht, Programma Varen, cruise companies and Waternet, this route was established, with the direction being ordered by the municipality.

Here, consideration was given to safety and traffic flow, avoiding passage across the IJ. The municipality has deemed it desirable for applying crowd monitoring from a nautical management perspective by the festival organisation on the busiest days, namely Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (due to the muscle-powered corridor) and daily during the Christmas holidays. The current route was developed based on the evaluation of the previous route and was coordinated with municipal authorities to obtain the necessary permits. As it stands, this route was the only option to secure approval.

Why can't we make use of the Eenhoornsluis every day?

From the municipal nautical departments, the Eenhoornsluis can only be opened from South to North under professional nautical traffic supervision. The timings of the exemption will be communicated by the organisation to the skippers and shipping companies.

Why not place extra artworks on Westerdok/Amstel/etc.?

More than half a year before the start of the festival we need to request a permit for every artwork we place. Ad hoc, extra artworks are therefore not an option. Moreover, the placement of the artworks depend on many factors, such as: light nuisance for residents, disturbance to houseboats, condition of the quaysides, (planned) road works, visibility from different types of boats, finance, time, etc.

Who is paying for all this?

Amsterdam Light Festival is a non-profit, cultural ANBI-foundation. We illuminate the city every winter to get residents and visitors through the dark days. We invite and commission artists to create artworks and showcase this form of art to a broad public. We do not receive structural subsidy from the City of Amsterdam and other funds.

To place art in the public space, we need money to pay the artists, crew and other employees. Cruise companies benefit from a nice route and therefore contribute a part of their fee. Next to that, we offer a festival app for the walking route. Together, this covers about two-thirds of our expenses. The remaining part is covered with sponsoring and partnerships with suppliers that have a warm regard for us. We receive some money from the event fund, which allows us to cover the costs of the criteria we need to meet concerning the public space (fees, sustainability criteria and other mandatory regulatory exemptions). All income is used to cover aforementioned costs.

Looking for the general nautical rules?

You can find them here.