Hello Amsterdam!
4th July 2026
Goedemiddag!
After many, many, (many!) months of planning, fundraising, practising, and rehearsing, we've finally made it to the Netherlands!
Writing this on the bus from Schiphol to our hotel, I can't help but reflect on the journey that's brought us here. Beyond the physical journey since leaving Wellington on Friday (a few looooong flights and a lot of airport coffee!), there have been countless hours of commitment from so many people to get us here.
From committee meetings, quiz nights, raffles, fundraisers, spreadsheets, rehearsals, sectionals, and more hours of personal practice than we'd like to admit, we're finally here. Heading to the hotel where we'll get straight into rehearsal (thanks Dave...) we're all excited to at last be joining up with our Europe-based players - old friends and new - and getting the band together in whole for the first time.
Thank you to everybody who has supported us on this adventure. Whether you've donated to the cause, bought a box of Waitoa’s finest, or even just sent us words of support - to each and every one of you, we're here in Europe thanks to you, to represent Wellington and New Zealand at one of the banding-world's greatest contests and festivals. We can’t wait to bring our programme of New Zealand music to the world, and we hope we'll do you proud.
Post-rehearsal update: not our most productive hour, but we made it through, and it was nice to reintroduce chops to mouthpieces after some 36(ish) hours in transit.
Relaxing now with a beer and some bitterballen (Proost!) and looking forward to our concert tomorrow with the Amsterdam Staff Band!
By Brendan Agnew
First beers in Amsterdam and post flight debrief