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Thousands of Netherlands soccer fans will take over Grand Boulevard on Thursday — and Kansas City is invited to join them.
The Orange Walk — a tradition in which 10,000 to 15,000 Dutch fans march behind the Oranje Bus before matches — has already made its mark in Dallas and Houston during FIFA World Cup 26.
Now, it comes to Kansas City ahead of the Netherlands' match against Tunisia, which kicks off at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Kansas City Stadium.
The party starts at 11 a.m. at the Kansas City Power & Light District. From there, fans will begin a nearly two-mile march down Grand toward Fan Fest at 12:15 p.m.
Jan Koster, originally from Holland and now living in Florida, said the tradition carries serious weight among Dutch supporters.
"Oranje Bus, it's legendary of the Dutch fans,” said Koster, who was at KC Live inside the Power and Light on Tuesday afternoon.
Daniello Cohen, an Amsterdam native following the Netherlands around the country during the World Cup with his brother and nephew, said Kansas City residents don't need to be Netherlands fans to take part.
"We'd like you to be a Dutch fan, but you can participate and everybody can participate,” Daniello said. “The more the merrier."
In fact, Koster said opposing fans are even welcome to join.
"It's a once in a lifetime chance to do that,” he said. “Please do it. Yeah, it's awesome."
There’s a small point of etiquette: Saloman Cohen, Daniello’s brother who also immigrated to Florida from the Netherlands, said wearing orange is encouraged. There’s a reason, after all, that it’s called the Orange Walk, but orange attire is not required.
Enthusiasm and stamina are all that’s required. You don’t even need to know the chants or songs.
"They do encourage you (to wear) something orange, but it's a lot of fun,” Saloman said. "... You just join, and that's sort of like a line dance, you know? You don't have to understand a whole lot once that starts happening."
If you’re dressed in orange and jumping around, "Nobody will know you're not Dutch,” Daniello said.
There is one thing to prepare for: rain. KSHB 41 Meteorologist Wes Peery said there is an 80% chance of rain on Thursday, meaning participants may want to pack a poncho — an orange one, perhaps — for both the walk and the match.
Rain or shine, Koster said the weather won't dampen the spirit of Dutch fans.
"I like shine better than rain, but if it rains or rains, I mean it is what it is, right?” he said. “Can't do anything about it, so we'll still be all partying and dancing and all that."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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