Planning and Publicity
Since the Elfstedentocht is such a rare event, its declaration creates excitement all over the country. As soon as a few days pass with sub-zero temperatures, the media start speculating about the chances for an Elfstedentocht. The longer the freezing temperatures stay, the more intense this "Elfstedenkoorts" (eleven cities fever) gets - culminating in a national near-frenzy when it is announced that the tour will actually be held. The day before the tour many Dutch flock to Leeuwarden to enjoy the party atmosphere that surrounds the event; that evening, called the "Nacht van Leeuwarden" (Night of Leeuwarden), becomes a giant city-wide street party (Frisians, who have a reputation of surliness, are said to thaw when it freezes).
On the day of the tour most Frisians and Dutchmen either stay home to watch it on television, or find a place along the route to cheer on the skaters - in February 2012, Friesland hotels were fully booked and expecting between 1.5 and 2 million visitors in expectation of a tour before it was announced, as the weather seemed suitable.
There are often points along the route where the ice is too thin to allow mass skating; they are called "kluning points" (from West Frisian klúnje), and the skaters walk on their skates to the next stretch of good ice. In 1997 ice-transplantation was re-introduced to strengthen weak places in the ice, for instance under bridges. Thin ice may occur naturally but sometimes there is human intervention: the "Committee Elfsteden Nee" is opposed to the race and sabotaged the route in 1997 by laying salt on the ice at one place.
Read more about this topic: Elfstedentocht
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