NETHERLANDS: THOUSANDS OF ROLLERBLADERS BRING CITY OF ROTTERDAM TO A HALT AS THEY TOUR AROUND THE CITY

Record ID: 646127

  • Title: NETHERLANDS: THOUSANDS OF ROLLERBLADERS BRING CITY OF ROTTERDAM TO A HALT AS THEY TOUR AROUND THE CITY
  • Date: 25th August 1999
  • Summary: ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS (AUGUST 25, 1999) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. PEOPLE ON ROLLERBLADES GATHERING IN CITY CENTRE 2. WOMAN PUTTING on ROLLERBLADES 3. BOY CIRCLING AROUND ON HIS BLADES 4. WOMAN WEARING ROLLERBLADES SITTING ON PAVEMENT 5. SKATERS CROSSING TRAM-TRACK 6. VARIOUS OF HUGE CROWD SKATING THROUGH MAIN SHOPPING STREET 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOUR ORGANISER HANS VELDHUIZEN SAYING:"Our idea is that a sport as individual as skating, you just buy the skates and you can do it whenever you have time for it, sometimes is an invitation to do it in a group and show many people how nice it is to skate either in or around a city." 8. GROUP, HEADED BY SECURITY ON ROLLERBLADES, GOING OVER ROUNDABOUT 9. VARIOUS OF CROWD SKATING OVER ROUNDABOUT 10. PEOPLE WAITING FOR SKATERS TO PASS 11. (SOUNDBITE) (DUTCH) MAN SAYING:"I think it is great, I am patient and I enjoy watching them pass. I think it is a very socialable event." 12. SECURITY ON ROLLERBLADES STOPPING TRAFFIC 13. ROLLERBLADERS PASSING TRUCK 14. CARS BLOWING HORNS 15. ROLLERBLADERS AND ROTTERDAM SKYLINE IN THE BACK Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 9th September 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
  • Country: Netherlands
  • Reuters ID: LVA5VJIB168M3LY1KYEMJ5XB1DCE
  • Story Text: Thousands of young and old people put on their
    rollerblades to join a 20 kilometres tour around Rotterdam,
    injecting fun and paralysing traffic in the Dutch port city.

    As the summer ends, some eight thousand rollerblading
    enthusiasts teamed up on Wednesday (August 25) to make a grand
    circuit around Rotterdam, a flat city perfectly suited for the
    sport.

    People of all ages, shapes, sizes and skating styles
    participated in the 20 kilometres rally that was organised for
    the tenth and last time this summer.

    Sporting the latest as well as vintage skate models, they
    whizzed through the shopping area into the financial district
    and onto the main road leading to the harbour of the city.

    Tour organiser Hans Veldhuizen said the event added a
    social aspect to the otherwise solitary sport.

    Attracted by slogans like "Rotterdam should Roll" and
    "Skate your week in two" the number of participants for the
    weekly event grew from forty partcipants during the first tour
    to six to eight thousands taking part in the last couple of tours.

    Security guards, many of whom were doing their job on
    skates, cordonned off the route, making sure the skaters sped
    through rush hour traffic uninterrupted.

    Some drivers impatiently sounded their horns as police
    made way for the endless stream of skaters, while others
    welcomed the crowd as a pleasant distraction.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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