THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The annual nationally televised arrival in the Netherlands of Saint Nicholas, known locally as Sinterklaas, will happen without public fanfare this year because of concerns about the coronavirus, the broadcaster that organizes the event announced Wednesday.
Each year, thousands of children and parents pack the streets of the town or city hosting the event in mid-November to welcome Sinterklaas who, tradition has it, arrives by boat in the Netherlands ahead of a Christmas-like celebration on Dec. 5.
“To avoid the arrival attracting a large number of people, we find it necessary to keep the location secret,” the Dutch public broadcaster NTR said in a statement on its website.
Confirmed coronavirus cases have been rising sharply in the Netherlands in recent weeks. Hospital admissions for COVID-19 also are beginning to rise, although they remain well below levels seen during the first wave of the country’s outbreak in March and April.
The annual holiday event has been a flashpoint in recent years due to an increasingly polarized debate about the appearance of Sinterklaas’ helper, known as Black Pete. He is sometimes portrayed by white people wearing blackface makeup, frizzy wigs and red lipstick.
Critics see Black Pete as a racist caricature, while supporters defend him as a traditional children’s character. Groups of activists from both sides of the debate often descend on the national arrival of Sinterklaas to demonstrate.
NTR has gradually altered Black Pete’s appearance of Black Pete since 2014. The broadcaster said the individuals filling the role for this year’s show will have “sooty” faces from clambering down chimneys to deliver gifts to children but not full blackface makeup, golden earrings or red lipstick.
The broadcaster said it makes its Sinterklaas-themed shows “for all children in the Netherlands. We do that with respect for tradition and with an eye on developments in society.”
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in June that his views on Black Pete had changed, although he maintained he does not believe the character is racist.
“When I meet people — small children — with dark skin who say, ‘I feel unbelievably discriminated against because Pete is black,’ that’s the last thing you want,” Rutte said in a debate in Parliament.
“I expect that in the coming years almost no Petes will be black,” the prime minister added. “It’s a popular culture that changes over time and under pressure from debate in society.”
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.