Amsterdam gears up to welcome back Dutch football team
Amsterdam is gearing up to cope with tens of thousands of football fans expected to come to the capital on Tuesday to welcome back the Dutch team from the World Cup in South Africa.
The KLM plane carrying players and officials arrived at Schiphol airport shortly before 17.30 hours on Monday, accompanied by two air force jets. The Netherlands lost the final to Spain 1-0 just before the end of extra time.
Today the team will meet the queen and prime minister before being taken to Amsterdam by helicopter.
Extra trains have been laid on to bring supporters to the capital and public transport is free.
Canals
From 15.00 hours, the squad will first be taken on a short Amsterdam canal tour, from the military barracks in the east to the Museumplein.
Houseboats along the route will be heavily protected in an effort to prevent a repeat of the 1988 damage, when hundreds of wellwishers climbed on to roofs and several almost sank.
And the Herengracht is closed to other boat traffic all day.
Instant justice
In total 1,800 police officers and 900 other officials are on duty.
Troublemakers are being warned that they face instant justice if picked up by the police.
‘Everyone who does anything will be taken to the police station and given a suitable punishment,’ public prosecution department head Harman Bolhar told the Telegraaf. ‘That can vary from a fine to jail, but it could also mean you are made to help clean up the city.’
For more information about the celebrations and the boat trip route, click here
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