DCE European Championships in Rotterdam again

This year, the DCE European Championships will once again be held in the Sparta Rotterdam Stadium. This week, Drum Corps Europe and Sparta completed the final details of the agreement.

On Saturday 29th September 2007, Sparta will be hosting the European Championships for the third consecutive year. "We are delighted to be in Rotterdam again", says DCE Chairman Marcel Matthijsse. "We are pleased with our collaboration with Sparta and the stadium meets all our requirements. Drum corps is becoming better known in Rotterdam and we are being discovered by an increasing number of people."

For this new edition, DCE and Sparta have created their first 'emergency plan'. In the event of heavy rainfall, the Prelims will be played towards the rear stand (the so-called Castle stand). This will prevent constant use of the same part of the field during the whole day.

At the moment, DCE and Sparta are still only waiting for exemption from the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB). Sparta has submitted a request to the football association to play an away game in the weekend of the DCE Championships, just like last year.

Last year, the DCE Championships attracted more than 2000 spectators to Rotterdam. More information can be found at www.drumcorpseurope.org.