SYDNEY 2008
Up to now, 600 Dutch youth are expected to take part in the forthcoming World Youth Day which will be held in Sydney July 15-20, 2008. The data was drawn from registrations collected by the Secretariat of the Catholic Dutch Church on December 1st 2007. This was the deadline by which young people could register at a reduced fee. Registration is still possible but at a higher price (all information is available on the website www.wjd.nl). In addition to these, other 50 young people are expected to be travelling to Australia with non-organized trip. As compared to the WYD held in Cologne, attended by several thousands of young Dutch, participants in this year’s edition are much less numerous. According to Jeroen Goosen, Dutch responsible of the project, this is due to the distance and related travel expenses. “Cologne was just around the corner, everyone had the possibility of reaching it on their own, but tickets for Australia are far more expensive.” Nonetheless, the official website of the Bishops Conference of The Netherlands refers that Mr. Goosen is satisfied that 600 young people will be participating, considering due comparison with other Countries. “If we consider that 4,000 will be coming from France and we compare the geographic extension of the two Countries, then it will be clear that the Dutch figures are not that bad.” The young people who registered for the WYD have a number of options to choose from, such as a pre-programme in Canberra on July 10-13; a forum which will be attended by over 2000 young people. It is expected that 15 000 young people from all over the world will be landing in Canberrra before the transfer to Sydney. The number of Dutch youth attending WYD increases each time. The first events, between 1984 and 1995, were attended by small groups. Figures increased for the WYD in Paris in 1997: 600 young people, while there were 1200 in Rome. In Toronto in the year 2002 participants amounted to 600.
