KHARKIV – The city is swelling in orange. Police said that at least 10,000 Hollanders walked the seven kilometers from the fan zone at Freedom Square to the Metalist Stadium for their match against Germany on June 13.
Some were dressed in orange-themed drag, while others in not less outrageous 1970s Elvis Presley outfits, Spiderman suits, dungarees, and fashion forward two-button suits. Short soccer chants were accompanied by nonsensical vocables.
Only the Dutch can pull off wearing a two-button orange suite, and neck tie with no shirt on. (Mark Rachkevych)
Would Elvis approve? (Mark Rachkevych)
Win or lose, the Dutch like to have fun. (Mark Rachkevych)
It looked like their homecoming parade the way local residents lined the streets to cheer them along, despite Amsterdam being 2,184 kilometers away. Shouts of “Holland, Holland!” were heard. Many had the red, white and blue Dutch flag painted on their cheeks. Bystanders filmed the parade, took pictures, many of whom with the fans. Still, others joined in the parade for a few street blocks.
Police said there were more than 10,000 Dutch fans parading through Kharkiv on June 13. (Mark Rachkevych)
In turn, the Dutch would yell, “Ukraina, Ukraina” and, “Sheva, Sheva.” And the men would sneak up to women on the sidewalk for quick hugs and pictures before re-joining the parade.
“We feel very much at home here, there are so many Dutch and the (local) people are very nice and very good,” said Frank Leenaars, 35, from Amsterdam.
Still, more fans made their way to the match venue in separate groups and authorities announced that the fan zone wasn’t letting in any more people an hour before the match started.
The doube-decker bus that led the Dutch parade from Freedom Square to Metalist Stadium. (Mark Rachkevych)
“The main point of these parades is to show brotherhood and cheer for the team,” said Jurgen Kruijt, 45 of Amsterdam. “It’s a nice long walk in which we bring the fun Dutch style wherever we go.”
Germans also joined the parade.
“I absolutely feel welcome,” said 26-year-old Andreas Mueller. “It’s nice to see lots of people here, the Dutch are nice but very loud.”
In response to what he had expected on his trip, Mueller said he thought of Ukraine as an undemocratic country. He continued that he hasn’t seen signs of racism or prostitution, things he had read about. But he lamented that he was greeted with a Heil Hitler sign on several occassions.
“Some people have showed me the sign, I realize this was a long time ago, but apparently some people thing the national idea is a good thing,” said Mueller.
There were no shortage of German fans in Kharkiv who gave their team plenty of support. (Mark Rachkevych)
At times, the Kyiv Post noticed service staff in eateries surrounding the fan zone not coping with the influx of customers. At Paprika pizzeria at the edge of Shevchenko Park, a group of hungry Dutch fans were told that the wait for a pizza would be one and a half hours.
“You have to work harder, work faster, give me an apron, I’ll go back there and help,” one of them said in a raised voice while slamming his hands on the bar counter.
Having witnessed this, the Kyiv Post decided not to stay and went to an Irish pub nearby. There, a conversation was overheard between the waitress and presumably a regular local customer. The server said that the staff was “getting used to the large number of customers.”
Jurgen Kruijt of Amsterdam said that although the service he has got was good, it is still different. He said that five beers at a pub cost him Hr 90, the next day Hr 100 at the same place and then hr 120 the third day.
“The same with taxis – a fare is Hr 100, and then Hr 200 for the same distance the next day,” said Kruijt.
Amsterdamers (L-R) Jurgen Kruijt, Frank Leenaars and Rueben Fofeldez. (Mark Rachkevych)
Dutch diplomat Rogier van Tooren and his wife Ineke were on hand with plenty of orange showing. (Mark Rachkevych)
