# Police step in as Urk youths set off heavy fireworks

> About fifty young people, some made up as Zwarte Piet, let off fireworks on a roundabout in Urk after the Sinterklaas arrival, days after the mayor warned of a hefty fine for face-covering make-up.

Society · published 2026-11-15 10:38 · https://nlnow.nl/a/police-step-in-as-urk-youths-set-off-heavy-fireworks/

Police intervened on Saturday evening in Urk after a group of about fifty young people, some made up as Zwarte Piet, set off fireworks following the Sinterklaas arrival. Police spokesman Wim Hoonhout confirmed that "very heavy fireworks" were used on the roundabout at De Akkers and Lange Dam, the so-called "relrotonde" (riot roundabout).

**Why it matters**

- Since this year, face-covering make-up can fall under Urk's local ban on face-covering clothing; the mayor has threatened a hefty fine.
- Twenty young people who regularly cause unrest have had a final warning: a repeat offence within three years brings a €2,500 fine.

A short but fierce fire broke out, and the fire brigade had to put out flames on the roundabout and in a hedge on the Lange Dam. Around midnight the young people went home and calm returned. Hoonhout said nobody was arrested and officers did not have to use force. Police do not rule out arresting suspects later.

Earlier in the week mayor Jaspers Faijer announced extra measures for the arrival: police, boa's (municipal enforcement officers), youth workers and a parents' watch would be on extra alert. Both roetveegpieten (Piet figures with soot smudges) and made-up Zwarte Piet characters were present at the arrival itself.

Jan Anker, chairman of the foundation that organises the Sinterklaas arrival in Urk, wrote on social media that a group of "illegal pieten" caused nuisance at the arrival site and at the Nettorama. He called it a sour note on the evening, but said he looked back on the arrival as more than satisfactory.

Fireworks offences are also rising among young people nationally. CBS counted 640 young people referred to the Halt youth diversion programme for fireworks offences in 2025, up from 440 in 2020 and 490 in 2023.

**Young people in Halt cases for fireworks offences rise to 640** (young people; source: CBS)

- 2020: 440
- 2021: 450
- 2022: 440
- 2023: 490
- 2024: 620
- 2025: 640

## Background

- **Zwarte Piet**: Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) is the helper of Sinterklaas, the Saint Nicholas figure who arrives in the Netherlands by steamboat in November and whose feast day is celebrated on 5 December. The character has traditionally been shown with a blackened face, red lips and curly hair, and in recent years many performers and municipalities have changed his look, for example to the soot-smudged roetveegpieten. He is a central figure in the Sinterklaas festivities, so the name usually refers to this character during the arrival and celebrations.
- **boa's (buitengewoon opsporingsambtenaar)**: Boa's are officials with limited investigative powers (buitengewone opsporingsambtenaren, or BOAs in English: special investigating officers), who work for municipalities, companies or other public bodies rather than for the police. In municipalities they typically enforce local rules and some specific laws, such as parking, littering, nuisance and public order, and they can issue fines. They are a common sight on the streets and at events, working alongside the police.

From NLnow, news from the Netherlands in English. How stories are made: https://nlnow.nl/about/