Holland natives share what it’s like on iconic ‘Oranje Walk’ that’s coming to KC
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Dutch fans will gather at Power & Light District at 11 a.m. before Oranje Walk.
- The Oranje Walk will begin at 12:15 p.m. and end at Fan Fest at the WWI Museum.
- A distinctive orange bus will lead the Oranje Walk to Fan Fest at the WWI Museum.
After moving from the Netherlands to Kansas City in 2007, Dennie Prins quickly became a Chiefs fan and loves attending games at Arrowhead Stadium.
But his favorite sports team is the Netherlands national squad, and ahead of the 2026 World Cup draw last December, he knew there was a chance Holland would play a match in Kansas City.
“I didn’t know which game that was going to be played here, because they were in a pool of four cities,” Prins said. “And so they already had a big chance of coming here. And then I heard that during the drawing that it was a chance to come to Kansas City, and then when they made it, and I found out officially, I was like, ‘YEAH!’”
The Dutch squad also made its World Cup base camp at the Current’s facility and had a public practice, but the big focus is on Thursday’s Group F matchup against Tunisia at Arrowhead Stadium.
Holland is tied atop the group with Japan, so the Dutch should be focused, and so will their fans who are expected to make their presence known.
“It will be an orange wave,” Prins said. “If you think about the sea of red, you will basically see the sea of orange. That’s probably the better way to say it for the Kansas City area.”
That burst of orange won’t be visible only at Arrowhead, Prins noted.
Before the match, which begins at 6 p.m., Dutch fans will gather at the Power & Light District starting at 11 a.m. on Thursday to prepare to take a walk together. Thousands of them.
It’s called “The Oranje Walk,” and it’s an iconic tradition of Netherlands soccer, even though the players and coaches never join in the fun.
What fans can expect
Social-media videos give you an idea of what “The Oranje Walk” looks like from the outside. But Jaap de Groot, a journalist in Holland, shared what it is like for those taking part in the fun.
Thursday’s walk, which will begin at 12:15 p.m., will end at Fan Fest at the World War I Museum and Memorial. That distinctive orange bus will lead the way.
The Dutch fans do the walk before each national-team game, and usually it ends at the stadium. But walking to Arrowhead Stadium is out, so it’ll be something different in KC. But it’ll still be a roughly 1 1/4-mile walk.
“You won’t know that you’re walking far because there’s a bus in front with crazy Dutch music,” de Groot said. “It will be a culture shock for the Americans. But if you take one or two beers, you just join the party and you have fun. And it’s really huge. If you’re in that kind of atmosphere, you don’t know that you’re walking for an hour, you just go with the flow. That’s a positive energy.”
It’s the best of two worlds coming together, de Groot added. That’s because the walk isn’t just for the Netherlands fans.
If you’re in the area Thursday, you’re welcome to join the fun. Donning orange may seem unappealing because that’s the color of the Broncos, the Chiefs’ less successful AFC West rivals. But this will be a great chance for Kansas Citians to know these Holland visitors.
“The good thing is, I think it’s the best way of integration of the local people with the Dutch people,” de Groot said. “People from Kansas City, just put on an orange shirt and you just joined the whole family.”
This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 10:00 AM.
