Keti Koti 2027 when it is, what it means and where to mark it in the Netherlands

What is Keti Koti?

Keti Koti is the day on which the Netherlands marks the abolition of slavery. The name comes from Sranan Tongo and means "broken chains". It began as a Surinamese holiday, kept every year on 1 July.

Today it is both a commemoration and a celebration. People remember those who were enslaved and the legacy that still shapes families and communities, and they celebrate freedom with music, food and company. The government says it wants the history acknowledged, personal stories shared and the effects on today talked about.

The national government invites everyone to take part in remembering.

1 July 1863 and 1873

On 1 July 1863 the Emancipation Act took effect and slavery was abolished in Suriname and in Curaçao and its dependencies. More than 45,000 people were freed. Owners were compensated 300 guilders for each person they had held; the people freed received nothing.

In Suriname the law added ten years of state supervision. Those who had been enslaved still had to work on the plantations, and slavery in practice ended in 1873. That is why you see 1873 on buttons and caps at the commemoration. On the Caribbean islands the freedom was immediate.

The end of slavery came in steps: the slave trade was banned in 1814, slavery ended in the Dutch East Indies in 1860, and the 1863 law followed for Suriname and the Caribbean.

When is Keti Koti?

Keti Koti is always on 1 July. In 2027 that is a Thursday; in 2026 it was a Wednesday.

The programmes are not limited to the day. Cities hold a commemoration on the evening of 30 June, lectures and a church service in the days before, and festivals on 1 July itself.

Keti Koti is not on the official list of public holidays. No holiday gives a legal right to a day off; that depends on your collective agreement or contract. Employees of the national government may swap Whit Monday or Ascension Day for Keti Koti.

The national commemoration in Amsterdam

The Nationale Herdenking Slavernijverleden takes place at the national slavery monument in the Oosterpark, Amsterdam. NiNsee and the Herdenkingscomité Slavernijverleden organise it. In 2026 it was the 24th edition, with speeches and wreath-laying for the victims of slavery, and the NOS broadcast it live. The theme in 2026 was *Schouder aan Schouder* (shoulder to shoulder).

Before the commemoration in 2026, the Bigi Spikri parade in traditional dress set off from the Waterlooplein towards the Oosterpark, and the Keti Koti Festival followed on the Museumplein. The 2027 programme in Amsterdam has not been announced yet.

Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and elsewhere

Many cities have their own programme, run by local groups.

Rotterdam: in 2026 the programme ran from a Keti Koti lecture on 24 June and a church service on 27 June to a commemoration on 30 June and the festival on 1 July, spread over the Wijkpark Oude Westen, the Schouwburgplein and De Doelen. The festival's site lists 24 June to 1 July 2027, and Keti Koti Connect lists Thursday 1 July 2027 at the Wijkpark Oude Westen.

The Hague: a committee, Comité 30 juni – 1 juli Den Haag, organises commemoration, celebration and learning around both dates. On 1 July 2026 Amare hosted the sixth edition of Keti Koti / Kibra Kadena, with Free Heri Heri For All.

Utrecht: in 2026 the commemoration was on 30 June at the monument *Vlucht en Verzet* in the Griftpark, followed by a festival in the park on 1 July, with a month of events around the theme *Bondru*.

Het Nationale Theater in The Hague also has a Keti Koti programme in its theatres. Other cities have not announced their 2027 programmes.

Dress, food and the Bigi Spikri

Many Afro-Surinamese women wear the koto on Keti Koti to honour their ancestors: an *angisa* (headscarf), a wide skirt and a jacket. People feel differently about the koto. Some are proud of it as a Surinamese style, others see it as a complex legacy of slavery.

The food of the day is *heri heri*, a Surinamese dish made with cassava, sweet potato and other root vegetables, served with boiled egg, fried plantain and salted fish. In 2026 the initiative Free Heri Heri For All handed out free heri heri meals, among other places at Amare in The Hague.

The Bigi Spikri ("big mirror") is the parade in festive dress that opens the day in Amsterdam.

The Keti Koti Tafel

Around 1 July several organisations host a Keti Koti Tafel, a dialogue table. Over a ritual meal, guests talk about what the Dutch history of slavery means to them today. Rituals open and close the evening, and a choir sings songs from the time of slavery.

The foundation behind the tables seats groups that are half white and half Black. It says it has had more than 45,000 participants in over 20 cities. You can attend a table or host one through its site.

How to join

Entry depends on the event. The national commemoration in the Oosterpark is broadcast live by the NOS; check the organiser's site for how to attend. Festivals and theatre programmes differ per organiser: some are free and some are ticketed, so check the organiser's page. Keti Koti Connect's Wijkpark festival in Rotterdam offers free visitor registration.