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Every third week of July, we celebrate the most beautiful seven days of the year. We've been doing this since 1970, with what was originally called the Summer Festivals, and we plan to keep doing it for many years to come. So we celebrate with a green heart (or as we say in Nijmegen: 'met een grúún hert'). For a better world. And especially for our beautiful city: Nijmegen. So that future generations can also dance, laugh, eat, and drink together during the most beautiful seven days of the year.
The Vierdaagsefeesten will be climate neutral by 2030 and fully circular by 2050!
Visitors, artists, hospitality partners, security services, the municipality, together we are the Vierdaagsefeesten. We’re joining forces to ensure the festival can continue for many years to come. That’s why we’ve committed ourselves to the national sustainability goals and the ambitions of the European Green Deal Circular Festivals. And we’ll achieve these together with you. With just a few simple choices, you can make a big difference for the festival.
Our focus areas are:
- Resources
- Food
- Energy
- Mobility and Transport
- Sanitation and Water
Waste is a raw material
During the dancing, partying, drinking, and eating, we produce a lot of waste. With about 1.5 million returning visitors over seven days, it is estimated that in 2023, 145 tons of residual waste were thrown away. Wait, waste? We mean future raw materials! Because in a circular world, all materials are valuable resources.
Together, we keep Nijmegen clean
Our ambition is to keep our beautiful city clean and strive towards a fully circular festival by 2050. We are doing this by working closely with the DAR, hospitality providers, visitors, and residents. Our focus is on cleaning the city, preventing residual waste, stopping public urination, and minimizing waste by introducing circular systems.
A great example is our circular cup. When you return your cup, it starts a new adventure. The cups we collect are sent back to the manufacturer, where they are transformed into brand-new cups. It’s an endless circle of reuse.
In line with the regulations around Single-Use Plastics (SUP), disposable plastic food packaging is now banned. Additionally, in 2025, we conducted a pilot with reusable tableware, achieving a return rate of 92%. Our goal is to have the Vierdaagsefeesten fully run on this type of tableware by 2028. After cups, food packaging is the largest waste stream during the festival.
Furthermore, we are placing around 225 extra trash bins and 350 "knapzakken" (bags). Confetti can no longer be used, as nature cannot clean it up. Free waste trays are also being discontinued to reduce waste.
Another great example: our construction fence banners used for communication purposes. These are printed with water-based ink and made from 100% recycled yarn. We try to reuse as many construction fence banners as possible each year, but not all can be reused. The ones that remain are transformed after the Vierdaagsefeesten into new collector items, such as fanny packs and bean bags. Handy items filled with memories.
Reusable Tableware Pilot 2025: 92% Return Rate
During the 2025 edition of the festival, a pilot with reusable tableware took place at the new event square Kaaij-Hoog. Four food trucks and the crew catering served their dishes on hard plastic plates and containers, which were collected after use, washed, and put back into circulation. Visitors paid a €2.50 deposit per plate or container, which they could reclaim afterwards via a QR code.
The pilot achieved a 92% return rate, an impressively high result that shows both visitors and vendors embraced the system. The main point for improvement was the refund method: filling in details digitally via the QR code was experienced as cumbersome.
“The pilot shows that visitors are willing to participate, but convenience is essential,” says Thomas Janssen, Sustainability Coordinator at Stichting Vierdaagsefeesten. “The system works, but the next step is to automate the return process.”
The participating food trucks responded positively. Although there were initial concerns about costs, risks, and practicality, the system proved feasible and even enhanced the overall dining experience. This demonstrates the clear potential of reusable tableware as the next step in the festival’s circular ambitions.
The introduction of reusable tableware aligns with the Vierdaagsefeesten’s sustainability goal of becoming fully circular by 2050.
What you can do for a clean city:
- Buy your drink at the bar and return the circular cup to the bar. This will save you €1, and you’ll help ensure that all cups are recycled properly.
- See a clean cup on the ground? Take it to the bar, that’s another cup saved!
- Throw waste (including cigarette butts!) into the designated bins and bags.
- Use the toilets, you’ll find them in the app. The residents of the city center suffer a lot from public urination. Extra checks will be made this year, so avoid a €170 fine!
Food
A snack and a drink are, of course, essential during the Vierdaagsefeesten.
You can't celebrate seven days of partying on an empty stomach. Luckily, there's plenty to taste in Nijmegen: from world-famous street food classics to surprising local dishes. Everything you need to recharge, share, and enjoy.
But did you know that what we eat has a big impact on the climate? That’s why, this year, as the first major open festival in the Netherlands, we’ve mapped the CO₂ footprint of all the food we serve. In total, that amounts to 384 tons of CO₂e, or an average of 1.26 kilograms per meal. This means we’ve earned a C-label according to the international Klimato standards. That’s lower than the global average of 1.6 kilograms. A result we’re proud of and, more importantly, a valuable step toward improvement.
Our goal?
We’re working towards a B-label festival: even lower emissions per meal, more flavorful plant-based dishes, and more local products on the menu.
By now, all 140 food trucks are working with Klimato labels on their menus. These labels show the climate impact of each dish, from A (low impact) to E (high impact). That way, you can discover not only what tastes good but also what feels good.
Not sure where to start?
All food trucks can be found in the Vierdaagsefeesten app, with handy filters for taste, diet, and location.
What you can do to make conscious food and drink choices:
Discover new flavors: Try a dish with an A- or B-label. Often surprisingly delicious and lighter for the planet.
Drink smart: Refill your bottle at one of the water refill points in the city (find them on the map in the app).
Taste local: Order the Vierdaagsefeesten beer, brewed by local brewers in Nijmegen. A tribute to our city and its flavor creators.
Green energy
Power from Nijmegen (also known as ‘ut Nimwegen’)
Seven days of partying takes a lot of energy. Not just for you, but also for all the stages, fairground attractions, activations, and (food) stands. Most of this (62%) runs on fixed power connections with locally generated green energy. So, it’s Nijmegen’s very own power! Something we’re incredibly proud of. Only a few locations still use generators, but these all run on biodiesel, supplemented with Adblue to keep CO₂ and other emissions as low as possible. Since 2023, our energy supply has been completely fossil-free!
Mobility
Together, we cover green kilometers
How many kilometers do you think our festival-goers travel? We calculated over 55 million kilometers! A remarkable 92% of our visitors choose to walk, bike, or use public transport to get here. And we’re really proud of that! We're doing our best to make these more sustainable choices as attractive as possible by adding extra trains and more bike racks. Check the map to see where you can park your two-wheeler.
What you can do to travel sustainably:
- Come by bike, on foot, or by public transport to the festival.
- If that's really not possible, carpool with others. Check here for all the practical information on how to share a ride.
Sanitation and water
During the 2025 festival, we used a total of 2.34 million liters of water. Whether you needed a refreshing sip at one of the eleven water refill points, or to relieve yourself after all those beers (before they got flushed away, nice and fresh).
As a gift to our city, we’ve installed eleven water refill stations in the city center, so you can stay hydrated all year round. Especially on scorching hot summer days, this is a lifesaver. For all your other drinks, simply head to the bar – that’s how we keep the festival going together.
We’ve also placed extra toilets to make sure you can find one easily wherever you are. With the Vierdaagsefeesten wristband, you get unlimited access to the outdoor toilets and exclusive access to wristband-only perks. For those who feel the urge to “wildly pee,” fines have been increased by our friends in the police. Hopefully, this will keep our streets fresher and cleaner!
Download the sustainability report
With this report, we honestly share our figures, successes, and challenges. This way, we take steps every year towards a sustainable future for the festival.