Hundreds of ships and boats sail into Amsterdam to mark city's maritime history
Ships from all over the world, many with their masts and rigging decorated with flags, sailed from the North Sea coastal town of IJmuiden on an hours-long journey up the North Sea Canal and into Amsterdam's IJ waterway for Sail 2025, the first edition in a decade.
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A puff of orange smoke erupted into the sky and ships' horns sounded as the replica, three-masted clipper Stad Amsterdam passed through a lock to mark the official start of the event.
Each ship is greeted with two cannon shots and its country's national anthem as it enters the harbour.
Orange smoke signals the start of the parade of hundreds of tall ships sailing into Amsterdam's harbour (Peter Dejong/AP)
Hugo Peek was one of the thousands of people who sailed in smaller boats together with the tall ships. Along with his grandfather and several other family members, he travelled on a smaller boat that accompanied the tall ship Europa.
'There was almost no water. It's almost all boats, ' the 21-year-old student said.
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Mahek Singahl was waiting in Amsterdam's central train station, looking onto the harbour with her two small children and several large suitcases.
Her family was headed back to Ivory Coast after a holiday in Iceland and had stopped in Amsterdam for a few days. They had no idea what the crowds were for.
'My husband went to look at the boats and left me here,' she said, laughing. 'He loves this stuff.'
The event, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors, is held every five years. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Wednesday's parade culminates in an evening fireworks display.
The ships will remain in Amsterdam, many open for visitors, through the weekend.
The first event was held in 1975 to celebrate Amsterdam's 700th anniversary and this year's edition coincides with the city's 750th birthday.
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The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Festival packing list 2025: What to bring to Reading & Leeds, Creamfields and more
The UK 2025 festival season isn't over yet – Reading & Leeds, Creamfields, Shambala and End of The Road are all still to come. To ensure you pack everything important (at best, you forget dry shampoo, at worst, your ticket), a thorough checklist is a must. Whether you're pitching up for the weekend, heading to a day festival like All Points East in the city or flying abroad for a blowout on the beach, your packing list should span beauty, toiletries, camping gear, clothing and more. While most festival essentials are non-negotiable (think tents, toothbrushes, underwear, sunscreen and reliable shoes), others can make your experience much more pleasant (we're talking cordless hair tools, pyjamas, camping stoves and eye masks). To prevent you from being the person in the group asking to borrow everything, the exhaustive list below includes everything you need for your next festival, whether it's an all-day rave or a four-day camping stint. Festival checklist Festival camping Festival tent Sleeping bag Pillow (or travel pillow) Roll mat or air bed Camping chairs Torch Camping rucksack Power bank Camping stove Coolbox or bag Festival toiletries and beauty Toothpaste Toothbrush Make-up wipes SPF for your face and body Aftersun Dry shampoo Deodorant Hand sanitiser Tampons, sanitary towels or period pants Insect repellent Painkillers Hayfever tablets Plasters Cordless hair tools Make-up Festival clothing Wellies (men's, women's) Cowboy boots Walking boots (men's, women's) Trainers (men's, women's) Summer dresses Waterproof raincoat (men's, women's) Jacket Summer hat Crossbody/bum bag Comfortable bra Sweatshirt Pyjamas Miscellaneous Festival ticket Compact mirror Cards and cash Breakfast bars Wine, spirits and cans Snacks Eye mask Ear plugs Phone charger Disposable camera Reusable water bottle Railcard Thermo flask Best festival essentials Best festival tent – Mountain Warehouse holiday six-person tent: £129.99, Securing a spot in our review of the best tents, our reviewer said that this is the best-value tent you can buy, and perfect for a festival. Tester Sian warns that it won't stand up to heavy rain, but her tests found that this tent has 'three separate bedrooms, each of which can fit a double air bed'. Its air vents and mesh door are great for keeping the tent cool in heatwaves, too. In the end, Sian describes it as 'ideal for a family of four sharing in the summer months, or for heading to a festival with friends.' Dubbed the best budget option in our review of camping mats, this Nhowin self-inflating camping mat is described as a bargain for £30. 'This comfortable mat is lightweight (900g) and compact when rolled up,' they said, adding that 'once inflated using the built-in foot pump, it provides an effective bed with a brilliant pillow included.' Plus, poppers enable you to attach another of these mats to one side, to create a double mattress. The best double option in our round-up of sleeping bags, Outwell's sleeping bag is a cosy cocoon for festival season. 'Two zips make it easy to share this roomy bag, which can also be opened up into a full-sized double duvet that's ideal for glamping or for popping in a campervan. Two built-in pillows are a nice place to rest your head,' our tester said. Generously sized and warm enough for use from spring through to autumn, this bag was loved by our reviewer for its price and comfort. When it comes to chairs, you don't need anything too fancy for festival season. This purse-friendly model from Argos will easily do the job, and it is light and easy to transport, with this offering folding away into a carry bag with a strap. Plus, it boasts a handy built-in drinks holder – a similar model was included in our round-up of the best camping chairs. Our favourite budget travel backpack, the Lifeventure waterproof packable bag is just what you need to haul your essentials to a camping festival. 'It's extremely light and squashes up into its very own pouch, but still felt fabulously comfortable, thanks largely to ergonomically contoured shoulder straps and a hip belt,' our tester said. With a durable, waterproof design and 22l capacity, it ticked all the boxes. If you want enough phone charge to find pals, take pictures and look up set times, a good power bank is a must-have, whether camping at the festival or just heading to one for the day. This nifty Belkin model will get you 78 extra hours of battery life with MagSafe-compatible Apple iPhones and Samsung phones. It ensured our phone was never out of battery during a four-day camping stint – plus, up to three devices can be charged at the same time, through two USB-A ports and one USB-C port. Available in three sleek colours, Belkin's pack looks good, too. Considering you'll spend most of the festival outside in the sun, a good SPF is essential. One of our favourites hails from La Roche-Posay, with its anthelios oil sunscreen praised for ticking every box. Including UVA, UVB and long UVA protection, it's suitable for sensitive skin, and it has a non-greasy and lightweight formula. Our tester found that: 'Reducing shine, we found you'll still get a fresh-faced glow minus any sticky or oily sensation, and it keeps you safe from the sun,' our tester added. It's just as important to top up your body sunscreen – and this SPF 50 is our top budget pick this summer. Offering 12 hours of hydration, Hawaiian Tropic's body SPF is powered by cocoa and shea butter. 'It's not sticky or greasy; it sinks in quickly and leaves the skin feeling supple and nourished,' our beauty expert said in their review. At less than £10, the dual-purpose formula is pleasingly affordable, protecting your skin from UV rays during a long day dancing in the sun. If you burn, some aftersun will be a godsend mid-festival. Bioderma's formula came out on top in our round-up of the best aftersun, with our tester lauding the lightweight product for its immediate cooling effect. 'Allantoin and ginkgo biloba gel soothe overheated skin, while patented cellular bioprotection technology works to protect your skin against cell damage from UV rays and other stressors,' they said. Keeping your hair fresh between showers at festivals (or if you're not planning to shower at all), dry shampoo is a must-have toiletry. Batiste's formulas are affordable favourites, and its green tea and chamomile bottle earned a spot in our round-up of the best dry shampoos. Our tester loved how affordable this shampoo is and how kind it was on sensitive scalps. Scandi brand Rains has a cult following for its minimalist yet practical rain-appropriate clothing. Its unisex storm breaker boasts a sporty look and extra wet-weather functionality. Complete with a hood and built-in cap, two-way zipper, doubled-welded pockets and elasticated cuffs, the jacket will ensure you're prepared for whatever the weather throws at you this festival season. Best festival wellies – Barbour abbey wellington boots, black: £69.95, One of our favourite pairs of wellington boots, these robust Barbour boots offered a 'flexible fit for movement', and the chunky soles provided good grip while walking. 'There's chic Barbour branding throughout, from the tartan pattern inside to the logo running up the back,' our tester said. A solid, stylish and reliable choice for festivals. Infused with vitamin C for a hydration boost, this Garnier mist works to brighten and protect skin from UV rays thanks to SPF 50 protection. It can be spritzed over make-up, leaving your face base undisturbed, making it a hero buy for festival season. Just reapply it every two hours throughout the day to prevent sunburn, which is no real hardship - the mist is refreshing and cools you down. The bag of festival season, meet Uniqlo's TikTok-viral crossbody bag. Roomy, adjustable, affordable and available in an array of fun colours to make a style statement, the styled-up bum bag is just what you need to carry your essentials around the field. Coming in minimalist black, beige and white finishes or playful yellow, red and green, there's a reason why Lyst named it the hottest product in the world. Waking up hungover in a tent is never fun, but a good sleep mask can make the experience a lot less painful. 'Made from polyester, Soap & Glory's mask has a silky feel that's lovely and smooth against the skin, while the extra-long shape wraps around the head and blocks out almost all of the light,' our tester said. Phone chains are an underrated hero of festival season. This bargain buy means your phone is always in grabbing distance to capture a moment, but also lets you be hands-free to enjoy the music. The discreet design clips have a tether tab that attaches to your phone case and a crossbody nylon cord. If you struggle to get any shut-eye at festivals, make sure to pack some ear plugs for sleeping. Proving you don't have to spend a fortune on good buds, these EarHub plugs impressed our tester. 'These putty-style, soft silicone earplugs are moulded into shape with your fingers and placed over your ear opening (not inserted into the ear canal), forming a sealed covering,' they said, adding that they blocked out sounds better than foam buds. This TikTok-viral cordless hot brush has finally made it to the UK, and it's perfect for festival season. Designed to be super lightweight for on-the-go use, a full charge takes around two hours for around 30 minutes of styling time. Adding volume, smoothing and taming unwashed hair in the camping field, the tool has three heat settings (200C, 180C and 160C). The brush design will work just as well to straighten as it does to add waves (simply twist instead of brushing it through). This top-rated reusable water bottle is everything you could want in a water bottle, and it also includes a filter. 'King of the water filter Brita has a nifty solution with this sturdy bottle that includes two MicroDisc refillable water filters. These last for around 60l or four weeks, and have an activated carbon filter that removes chlorine and other nasty-tasting substances,' they said. Praising how good the water tasted, they also liked the pull-up mouthpiece that's protected by a lid, to keep it all clean. If you want to glam up your festival look, turn your attention to glitter – but make sure it's biodegradable, so it doesn't harm the environment. This Barry M offering is plastic-free and produced from a special film sustainably sourced from plant cellulose, which biodegrades in fresh water. If your favourite pillow from home is too cumbersome to lug to the campsite, try a compact travel one instead. Lifeventures' £10 model earned a spot in our round-up of the best travel pillows, with our tester noting that 'its curved shape did a fantastic job of cushioning not only my head but my neck and shoulders.' They also found that the 'logical placement of the easily accessible valve made it a breeze (excuse the pun) to add or release air when I needed to tweak this pillow's firmness.' Whether you're craving piping hot coffee to revive your hangover or ice-cold water to cool down, a thermos flask is an essential in your festival pack. This model was the top pick in our review, thanks to its slim, compact and lightweight design. 'There's a little button that releases the lid, so opening the flask is a breeze, and the mouthpiece is one of the best (if not the best) we tried – wide and curved, for effortless, comfortable sipping.' Drinks will stay cold for 24 hours and piping hot for 10.
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Dutch DJ and producer Joris Voorn returns with his most personal project to date – from loss to emotional rebirth
WITH over two decades at the forefront of melodic techno and house, Dutch DJ and producer Joris Voorn returns with his most personal project to date: SEROTONIN. Released on his own Spectrum label in collaboration with Armada Music, the album is a sonic journey through loss, healing and emotional rebirth. 3 3 'I've been working on this album for several years,' says Voorn, reflecting on a period that included the pandemic and the loss of both parents. 'Music has always been my rock, and I wanted this album to be something uplifting, which is why it's called SEROTONIN.' From ambient introspection to euphoric dancefloor energy, the album opens with a piece written at his childhood home on the piano once played by his father, composer Joop Voorn. 'The house was being sold, and I set up a studio in the exact place where my father used to sit. That was a profound experience,' he shares. The track, Session One, captures that emotional space. While deeply personal, Voorn hopes listeners feel something universal: 'If it brings healing or joy to anyone who hears it, I'd be equally happy to hear that.' Despite the emotional weight behind the project, SEROTONIN isn't a sad album. It's driven by the energy of his global sets. 'It was always supposed to be melodic music aimed at the dance floor,' he explains. 'Many of the tracks have been key parts of my live shows.' Touring extensively, sometimes 4 or 5 shows a week, hasn't slowed his creativity. 'I made music for this album in my studio, on planes, in hotel rooms,' he says. 'You have to be able to write anywhere now.' Voorn also credits his long career with giving him the freedom to create music that feels 'true and honest,' even as the digital age floods platforms with thousands of new tracks daily. 'Timeless music is about being able to press play in 20 years and still feel it's relevant.' That sense of timelessness extends to collaborations on the album, which he describes as a mix of organic connections, management suggestions, and publishers pitching vocalists. 'The final part is always the most time consuming, road testing the tracks at shows until they really work.' Reflecting on his evolution since his debut album, Voorn says: 'I've become more exploratory, more interested in ideas outside of my comfort zone. But I've always held onto sincerity and being true to myself.' While SEROTONIN feels like the end of one creative chapter, he's already thinking ahead. 'Repetition is not something I'd ever want to do.' His recent show atop The Shard in London was a fitting launch. '800 feet up with the perfect sunset… that certainly got the SEROTONIN levels jacked.' Next up is a return to London's KOKO on September 26th and maybe, just maybe, a remix of a synth-pop classic. 'I've always wanted to remix Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat. It would be nice to give it a 2025 twist.' 3
The Sun
6 hours ago
- The Sun
Inside Creamfields' drug underbelly as ravers smuggle in MDMA-filled Kinder Eggs & dealers shout like market traders
LUCY GEORGE was three weeks away from starting her dream job as a flight attendant with Virgin Atlantic when she headed to Creamfields dance festival. The 25-year-old from Neath, Wales, was looking forward to a weekend of fun with pals before embarking on her globetrotting career - but four days after collapsing at the event, she would be dead. 13 13 13 It was August 26, 2022, and Lucy's family says she had her whole life ahead of her, but within hours of arriving at the festival in Daresbury, Cheshire, she was in a critical condition and rushed to Warrington Hospital. Lucy, who was described as a non-drug taker at the subsequent inquest into her death, had taken just half an ecstasy tablet, sniffed nitrous oxide gas and drank vodka and would later die from multiple organ failure as a result. Handing down a verdict of misadventure after 'high levels of MDMA were found in her system', the coroner concluded that Lucy had taken drugs but 'didn't expect the outcome.' At the time of the inquest, Lucy's heartbroken mum, Helen George, said: "As a family now we are absolutely devastated because she's not here. 25 is no age to lose her life. If she has taken what she has taken, it was done in the moment. 'Lucy was not a drug addict. She was a beautiful girl, she was fun-loving, very hard-working…These youngsters need to realise that drugs are serious. It's not something that you should just take. Lucy has paid the ultimate price by losing her life." As well as drugs, the festival has seen its fair share of violence and sexual assaults, with one festival goer being left scarred for life after having a piece of cheek ripped off in a bloody attack. Creamfields, which is one of the world's most renowned electronic dance festivals, launched for the first time in 1998 in Winchester, Hampshire and has grown in popularity - known as a festival for first timers and those celebrating exam results at the end of the summer. Its line-up includes some of the best artists and DJs, such as Swedish House Mafia, Calvin Harris, David Guetta and Fatboy Slim - and attracts a young crowd similar to Boardmasters in Cornwall. As 80,000 revellers head to Creamfields this Bank Holiday weekend for what's billed as the UK's biggest dance music festival, Helen's words of warning reverberate. 'People were collapsing all over the campsite' On the same day Lucy collapsed, several drug dealers were caught attempting to smuggle large consignments of narcotics into the event, but 2022 was not an anomaly. The annual festival has struggled to stamp out rampant drug use – so much so that at later trials of drug dealers caught there, a judge revealed that three detectives are employed full-time to deal with the problem. At Lucy's inquest, in 2022, her friend Daniel Humphries, explained: "When we were at Creamfields, people were selling drugs around the tents. They were easy to get hold of." One festival goer wrote about their experiences on Reddit and called the 'lack' of security 'frightening', while explaining: 'Checks at the entrance were very random. Drug dealers casually walking around SHOUTING what drugs they have for sale.' Worryingly, the writer claimed: 'This year was by far the worst I have seen for drug dealers. Over five visits it has gradually got worse in terms of security and safety and to me this seems like a ticking time bomb.' One Tripadvisor reviewer, Zoe L, wrote about her experience in 2021, revealing, 'When we arrived at Creamfields, we went through the laziest bag check I've ever experienced. Just a simple pat down of the bags and 'have you got any drugs?'. 'I can appreciate it is very difficult to control drugs coming into a festival, but I feel due to the poor bag checks that it was rife. People were collapsing all over the campsite. People were openly handing out and taking drugs publicly without consequence in full view of staff.' One former festival-goer The Sun spoke to who attended Creamfields for several years in the early 2000s and wished to remain anonymous, said the festival has always maintained a reputation as a place where drugs were easy to acquire. 'It was always popular with clubbers and is synonymous with MDMA, ketamine and cocaine,' she said. 13 It was the high levels of the drug MDMA that would take Lucy's young life, and before that, the life of 19-year-old Joshua Gibson in 2019. According to reports, Lucy began acting strangely at around 8.20pm. Her friends said they tried to get help as she fell unconscious, but claimed that medics were "too busy" to assist them. The on-site hospital's ambulance control team were alerted to her condition at around 9.35pm before paramedics attended, and she was stretchered into the medical tent at 9.45pm. Lucy was struggling to breathe and went into cardiac arrest as doctors prepared a ventilation tube. She was resuscitated and taken by ambulance to Warrington Hospital's ICU. 13 Helen said: "Initially, the hospital was positive and keeping our spirits up, but as the day went on it wasn't good news, and by the Monday there was nothing more they could do." Lucy sadly died on Tuesday, August 30 with Coroner, Jacqueline Devonish, concluded that she'd "only took drugs because she happened to be at the festival" and that even if Lucy had received medical attention sooner, "it was unlikely that her life could have been saved due to the high levels of MDMA in her system". In the same year, police seized almost £90,000 worth of drugs during the four-day event, while 102 people were arrested between 2022 and 2024, 86 of those being for drug-related offences, according to an FOI data obtained by Get Licensed, a training platform that works to make UK festivals safer. Shockingly, the festival has the second-highest arrest rate in the UK. As Lucy was fighting for her life, pushers Andrew Rankin and James Jones, both from Dundee, were attempting to smuggle a cache of narcotics into the venue in a crate of cider. They were caught with 514 tablets of MDMA valued at £5,140 and 197 wraps of ketamine, valued at more than £8,000. Both were later jailed for three years after admitting two charges of possessing class A and class B drugs with intent to supply. On the same day, London pastry chef Ana Catarina Nogueria De Melo, 23, was also arrested trying to smuggle MDMA, Mcat and Ketamine into the festival. She was jailed for two and a half years after she pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply. Also in 2022, Erin Hobdell, of Glasgow, 18 at the time, and Kira McNicol, of Prestwick, 21 at the time, were caught attempting to take class A drugs worth up to £6,720 into the festival. 13 During their Chester Crown Court trial in November 2024, Judge Steve Everett revealed that three detectives worked full-time on Creamfields cases. 'Two people to my knowledge in the last eight years have died taking drugs at Creamfields,' he said, referring to Lucy George and Joshua Gibson, 19, who died in August 2019 after attending Creamfields, where he took three ecstasy tablets, which he smuggled past security checks at the entrance gate. His inquest heard that he bought ketamine inside the venue and later died of multiple organ failure after suffering three cardiac arrests. Chester Crown Court is kept busy with Creamfields cases. At another November 2024 drugs trial relating to the festival, the same judge exclaimed: 'There is a huge problem with drugs in Creamfields.' In that case, 20-year-old Joseph Ernest from London was arrested at the festival with £2,200 of ketamine hidden inside his body. He was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. An 18-year-old's drug haul into Creamfields, 2023 Luckily for Jasmine, the judge noticed her genuine remorse and gave her a community sentence instead of jail time. In August 2023 aged only 18 and having just completed her A Levels, Jasmine Mattis was caught trying to get into Creamfields with a stash of Ecstasy, cocaine, LSD, ketamine and cannabis wrapped up in a coat and large bag. When confronted, she initially claimed the drugs were not hers, talked about ''needing the money'' - then, after asking to go to the toilet, appeared to try and run away. She was subsequently arrested. At Chester Crown Court, Jasmine, now 20, of South Norwood, Croydon, faced up to seven years in jail under sentencing guidelines after she admitted five charges of possessing drugs with intent to supply. She was sentenced to a two-year community order with requirements that she complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation activity days. Full list of what Jasmine tried to smuggle into the festival: 42 bags of ketamine 192 MDMA tablets 22 bags of MDMA powder 13 bags containing a mixture of MDMA, cocaine, and ketamine 4 doses of LSD 3 cannabis cigarettes 1g bag of cocaine at 77% purity In sentencing Jasmine, Judge Steven Everett said, 'Class A ecstasy is a killer. Cocaine is a killer, and when those who sniff it in its purest form, their noses cave in and do goodness knows what else to their insides. ''Undoubtedly, LSD has a significant effect psychologically; it is well documented that cannabis causes significant mental health issues, and there is evidence that ketamine causes bladder problems. "You were going to take those drugs in and make money out of those people and create that risk.' In May this year, 35-year-old mother of four Sian Bullock from Thornton Cleverley, Lancashire, was jailed for three years at Chester Crown Court after she was caught smuggling drugs into the event in August 2023. She admitted hiding two kinder egg containers in her vagina, which contained 64 MDMA tablets. Following Bullock's sentencing, Police Constable Lisa Green pointed out that there are 'amnesty bins' at the entrances where people can dump their drugs. She said: 'Every year, we and the Creamfields events and security teams do our utmost to ensure that everyone attending the festival can have a safe and enjoyable time, and for the most part, festival-goers have respected the laws.' A statement on the Creamfields website says: 'Cheshire police urge you not to risk bringing any illegal or unknown substances to the event. If you are found to be in possession of controlled drugs, new psychoactive substances or weapons, you are liable to prosecution.' 'I've never seen so much blood' While drug use inside the venue has been a huge problem for Creamfields' organisers, there have also been several vicious attacks there in recent years. On the online forum festivals, contributor Dom Ford wrote of his experience in 2020, claiming he was awoken at 4am by a group of men shouting: 'I've got a knife, who wants cutting' and 'give us your wallet and all your money'. He says a friend confronted the men and was punched and hit over the head several times with a mallet. He wrote: 'I've never seen so much blood in one place, all over the tent, covered his face in blood along with the scars, broken nose black eyes and a 6cm long, 2cm deep gash reaching his skull in the top of his head." In 2018 a reveller's throat was slashed by a knife-wielding maniac at the festival. Louis Maddock, then 25 from Runcorn, was subsequently jailed for seven and a half years for the attack. 13 And in 2017, horrific photos emerged of Essex window fitter Jimmy Leggett, 21 at the time, who had a chunk of his cheek ripped out in a brutal attack while attending Creamfields. In a Facebook post, Jimmy's twin brother Max said the family was relieved the 21-year-old was alive after the terrifying incident, but he said Jimmy's face was scarred for life. Sexual assaults have also been reported In April this year, Gergel Ludanyi, 35, from Southampton, was jailed for eight years at Chester Crown Court after being found guilty of sexual assault by penetration, and two counts of sexual assault by touching. During his trial, the court heard how, in August 2022, Ludanyi, who had been working on the fairground at the festival, was seen sexually assaulting his victim while she lay unconscious on the ground. In 2019, Bando Ysihara, then 19, from London, was jailed for eight years for raping a woman who was alone in her tent at the festival in 2018. The victim, in her 20s, had never met Ysihara before. Her harrowing 999 call was played to the Chester Crown Court at the trail. On its website, Creamfields organisers Rockstar Energy Drinks, says: 'We operate a zero-tolerance policy towards any kind of sexual assault or harassment.' As the weekend approaches, thousands of ravers will be gearing up for four days of music, dancing and hedonism. Most will have a weekend to remember. But for some, the carefree fun may turn into a nightmare. The Sun approached the organisers of Creamfields for comment.
