Campaign group Kick Out Zwarte Piet (KOZP) is calling a halt to its demonstrations at Sinterklaas parades this year, after reaching an agreement with almost 30 local councils on making changes to their plans.

In total, 28 local councils have now agreed “to move to an inclusive Sinterklaas parade,” the organisation said, after contacting towns and villages which still had blackface Piets in their processions.

KOZP said it would not reveal which councils had agreed to make the shift, to make sure that pro-Piet demonstrators did not attempt to disrupt the parades.

For decades Sinterklaas was accompanied by people in blackface makeup, curly wigs and earrings in processions, on television and in books and film. The KOZP’s campaign, which at first divided the country and later led prime minister Mark Rutte to admit he had changed his mind, created the adoption of a new type of helper, with a sooty face instead.

The campaign group, which had said earlier this would shut down in December 2025, did however criticise television show Sinterklaasjournaal which airs daily in the run-up to the main present giving on December 5.

The Piets on the television show are “barely different” from blackface Piets, and many councils are adopting this “bad example”, the organisation said.

The campaigners have been subjected to verbal and physical abuse since they began demonstrating at parades which include traditional blackface Piets 14 years ago.

Last weekend KOZP was present at the Sinterklaas parade in Yerseke in Zeeland, where they were attacked with eggs, rocks and fireworks thrown by supporters of the traditional blackface Piets. There were similar problems in Middelharnisin South-Holland.

KOZP was launched in 2010 and was set up with three main aims: more education and awareness of slavery; a national day to remember the abolition of slavery, and the end of the racist Zwarte Piet stereotype. 

“In 2010 you could get away with racism more easily than you can now,” founder Jerry Afriyie told the AD in February. “At that time, 99% of the country was not aware of the slavery commemorations on July 1. Now they are shown live on television.”

The group’s aims, he said, were realistic. “We never said we wanted to eradicate racism in 15 years. We wanted to stimulate people to develop an anti-racist position.”

When the group started, most people had no idea that Zwarte Piet, with his blackface makeup, earrings and red lips was a problem for many people.

“Now they know this, and if they still opt for [the traditional Zwarte Piet] then, well, you can wake up people who are sleeping but you cannot wake up people who are pretending to sleep.”  

Blackface Piets are nowadays mainly found in rural and traditionalist areas.