University records from Amsterdam and Utrecht document closures, costs and the response to campus occupations.
The University of Amsterdam said it cancelled classes on May 14 and 15, 2024, after protesters occupied and barricaded a building at its Roeterseiland campus. Teaching and research resumed on May 16.
In November, the university put costs from the May and June protests at €4.1 million. Its account describes damage, security needs and a delayed library project. The estimate covers the University of Amsterdam and comes from the institution itself.
On May 7, 2024, demonstrators occupied a courtyard at Utrecht University’s city-centre library. A second protest led to the occupation of the Drift 25 building the next day. Police intervened during both episodes.
The university published a fact-finding timeline with Global Justice Investigations Lab. It provides a second Dutch case for examining campus access and police response, alongside Amsterdam’s separately documented closure and cost estimate.
Dutch police documented assaults, injuries and arrests around the November 2024 match.
May–June 2024 occupations and protests. The rounded items add to €4.13m. The institution’s statement combines damage, lost turnover and delay. University of Amsterdam accounts
Cost figures retain their original geography and reporting period. An evidence gap here is not a reported zero.
Evidence review · November 15, 2026. Additional source evidence is linked in the relevant rows.
| Area | What the sources establish |
|---|---|
| Policing and dispersal | Amsterdam police reported 281 arrests during a November 13, 2024 demonstration on Dam Square. A separate May 28 release recorded 73 arrests after authorities dissolved a moving demonstration. These are two event counts and neither release gives the operation’s cost. Dutch Police, Dam Square release |
| Property damage and repairs | The University of Amsterdam listed €600,000 for building exteriors, €300,000 for interiors and €30,000 for security systems. These are university cost categories for May–June 2024. University cost breakdown |
| Businesses and economic activity | The university reported €400,000 for catering damage and lost turnover combined. Its €2.8 million library delay estimate covers a separate construction impact. University cost breakdown |
| Transport and access | The Port of Rotterdam reported major effects on road traffic and affected businesses at Maasvlakte on October 10, 2025. Its notice does not price those losses. Port Authority statement · ACLED event review |
2,956,518 international migrants lived in Netherlands at midyear 2024, according to UN DESA estimates. This is the resident migrant stock. The UN uses birthplace or citizenship depending on the source available for each country. UN DESA definitions · Country figures
Both bars use a 0–100% scale. Estimates describe the whole population. Pew Research Center dataset
These population measures have different denominators and dates. Neither identifies participants in a demonstration, and aggregating their counts cannot establish which people caused a disruption.