Tibetan Freedom Torch Hosted in Amsterdam

The Tibetan Freedom Torch was welcomed at the opening ceremony of the Ticket for Tibet festival in Amsterdam on Sunday 20 April. A record number of 9500 people visited the third edition of the festival. For one day Amsterdam’s famous NDSM Ship-Warf was transformed into a huge celebration of Tibetan culture with bands playing on various stages. With the Olympics in Beijing coming up there was a lot of space for sport and debate. The Tibetan Football Team, visiting Holland on the first leg of their European tour, played against teams of Dutch artists, journalists and musicians.

The Tibetan Freedom Torch was carried through the city center of Amsterdam by media personalities and Tibetan athletes residing in Holland members. It was then carried by the members of the Tibetan Football Team for the last leg and was finally handed over to Mrs. Halsema of the Dutch Green-Socialist Party who officially opened the festival.

A large Race for Tibet Sport Cafe was the setting of lively debates between prominent politicians and well-known artists, commentators and media personalities. The debates resulted in broad-based support for Tibet in The Hague, the seat of the Dutch Government. A broad coalition of political parties has now requested the presidium of the parliament invite His Holiness the Dalai Lama to speak in the Dutch Parliament on the situation in Tibet.

Visitors at Ticket for Tibet were exposed to various aspects of Tibet’s unique culture and traditions. They were also informed about the situation in Tibet and the way Tibetans are involved in furthering reconciliation and dialogue through sports. A strong line up of Holland’s best bands, such as Moke, Racoon and Blof, contributed to the large turnout of visitors. The Tibet single named “If ever you could return”, produced by a group of musicians amongst whom Blof’s Peter Slager and Loten Namling reached no 1 in the Dutch charts days ahead of the festival.

Ticket for Tibet this year was the result of a fruitful cooperation between the Ticket for Tibet Foundation, Campaign Bureau BKB, Tibet Support Group Netherlands and International Campaign for Tibet – Europe.