Floating Flower Parade changes event days for the second time

2022 marked the first time the Floating Flower Parade sailed through the scenic canals of The Hague. Photo credit: Varend Corso Westland/Arnaud Roelofsz.

The Netherlands’ Floating Flower Parade changes event days and will set off during the Whitsun weekend.

The Netherlands’ Floating Flower Parade (aka Varend Corso in Dutch), which usually takes place in the third week of June, will this year happen between Friday 30 May – 1 June 2025.

Organisers told FCI magazine the changes had been made in response to the forthcoming NATO Summit, which will be held at the World Forum in The Hague in the Netherlands, from 24-26 June 2025.  More than 27,000 police officers will take place in what is touted as one of the Netherlands’ most significant’ ever security operations leaving no room for other large events in the area.

It is not the first time that the event changes dates. In 2022,  the parade set off at the end of June instead of the beginning of August, the month of choice since the event’s inception 26 years ago.

The Parade’s kick off event will be held on 29 January gathering participants, floral flortilla builders, sponsors and volunteers. This year’s theme is: ‘One big adventure’.

The Floating Flower Parade is a floral flotilla that once a year sails through Westland, Midden-Delfland, Schiedam, Vlaardingen, Maassluis, Rijswijk, and historic Delft.

UNESCO awarded the Dutch ‘corsos’ with the intangible cultural heritage status in 2022.