Central Amsterdam streets closed to traffic for Sinterklaas parade

Sinterklaas arrived in Amsterdam on Sunday morning on a boat full of Pieten and presents, sailing along the Amstel. Thousands of Amsterdammers stood along the route to welcome the Goedheiligman, the Good Saint. He came ashore at Het Scheepvaartmuseum, where deputy mayor Esmah Lahah and child mayor Ava (9) welcomed him officially.

The arrival did not go entirely to plan. A bridge on the route did not open, so Sinterklaas and his Pieten had to be taken the last stretch by police boat.

At 13:00 Sinterklaas leaves Waterlooplein on his horse and rides towards Leidseplein. Several streets around the Amstel, Utrechtsestraat and Leidseplein are temporarily closed to traffic on Sunday 15 November. The barriers are lifted again once the parade has passed.

Mayor Femke Halsema was not at the arrival. She is on a working visit to India, where she is leading an economic mission of Amsterdam and Amstelveen.

Halsema told the municipal council on Wednesday that she regretted it: "It's the first time I've missed the Sinterklaas arrival."

With Halsema away, the official welcome at the quay fell to Lahah and the nine-year-old child mayor Ava. The roads around the Amstel, Utrechtsestraat and Leidseplein reopen as the parade moves on.