Floriade 2012: Living nature!

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If the Netherlands would have had the honor to organize this year’s Olympics it might have been different, but this year the Floriade is the biggest event in the Netherlands. This year marks the 6th edition of this event, which is only held once every 10 years, and it is already showing great potential. But before we are going to discuss this years edition we will have a quick look at the history of the Floriade.

The Floriade officially dates back from 1960. With the first edition in Rotterdam. However even before that time there were 'Floriades' in Groenendaal. The first edition of the Floriade was combined with the opening of the Euromast (which was featured in our Zuid-Holland blog). It is the only physical remnant of that edition. In 1972 the second edition was held in Amsterdam. This edition is listed as the largest agricultural expo of its time with a staggering 5 million visitors. Remnants of this edition can still be found in the Amstelpark in Amsterdam.

The third edition was held in a different part of Amsterdam and was less successful in terms of visitors. Its location was also unfortunate, as Amsterdam had different plans for the terrain after the expo. The only part of the expo that remained was the Gaasperpark.

The fourth edition marked the introduction of the cable-car ride. Visitors were able to travel through the park by cable-car, which made the park significantly more friendly for elder people or people with a disability. The cable-car has been part of the Floriade ever since. This edition was held in Zoetermeer and remnants of it can be found in the area Rokkeveen-West.

The fifth edition of the Floriade was held in Haarlemmermeer. Its mayor attraction was a manmade mountain, which gave a stunning view over the park. This edition also received its very own Suske and Wiske comic.


And this brings us to this year’s 6th edition, which is held in Venlo (Limburg) from the 5th of April till the 7th of October. This year’s edition will be made with a Cradle to Cradle design. Which means that all the materials that are used are renewable and should not in any way harm our future generations.

Two of this edition mayor attractions are the buildings designed by Jón Kristinsson and Jo Coenen (which can be seen in the picture) and this years cable-car ride. Which is a state of the art piece of technology. A total of 130 participants will create a part of the Floriade. In total this year’s Floriade will cover 66 acres, of which 22 will be forest, 2,5 will consist of buildings and 4 acres will consist of water. The rest will be filled with various creations and other places of interest. Content based a total of 1700 trees will be present, together with 20.000 shrubs, 200.000 perennials, 65.000 aquatic plants 1,5 million flower bulbs and 95.000 ephemeral plants.

But why bother about the data. The Floriade is something you should experience yourself. An average human being will only have 8 chances to do so in its entire life. So do not waste this opportunity and visit the Floriade 2012. Tickets and more can be found on their website.

Also if you happen to work or study at a place where the company Sodexo is managing the catering then it is possible to order tickets with €2,50 discount and extra food coupons. This can be done on http://nl.sodexo.com/nldu/floriadetickets.asp. We will finish this special with a video coverage by Eindhovens Dagblad. 
Also you can still enter in our Bath Cupcakes contest today. Visit our Facebook page and answer the 4 questions correctly for your chance to win!