Our suggestion for the overall theme:

EuroVelo & Cycle Tourism Convention 2026:

Utrecht: beating heart of cycling

Rationale:

• The event is in the heart of the Netherlands
• ‘The heart of’ signifies, right in the middle, focal point, etc.
• All participants have a heart for cycling
• The heart is about love and emotion
• The heart is also the engine of the body: powerful, driving force, etc.
• Aligns well with Utrecht, Heart of Health positioning
• Offers a lot of creative and visual possibilities

Proposals for the program

The program for the conference will be compiled in collaboration with ECF, the earlier mentioned program committee and other partners united in the Utrecht bid. For this bid we have collected the insights, suggestions and ideas of almost all Dutch organizations that are relevant for EuroVelo.
It goes without saying that there will be a call for abstracts in the run-up to the conference.

General themes and topics
From our discussions with consulted organizations, we have distilled some general themes and topics for focus:

• Connecting recreational and utilitarian cycling
• Connecting cities with the countryside
• Cycling and health: opportunities and benefits
• The secret behind the impressive cycling route networks in the Netherlands (not just about funding) and lessons for other countries and regions
• The success of the Dutch polder model in organizing cycling infrastructure and promoting cycling
• The emotional side of cycling: How can we encourage people to cycle more? Focus on cycling fun, happiness, and the psychology behind it

A selection of the suggestions and ideas we’ve received:
(Note: some ideas, topics, projects, and cases may become outdated by 2026, but new ones will emerge.)

Landelijk Fietsplatform: Showcase of the renewal of EuroVelo 15, focusing more on experiencing nature, culture, and history (e.g., Limes, Dutch Waterline). This large project will be completed just before the conference and is suggested for technical visits.

Routebureau Utrecht and the Province of Utrecht: An integrated approach to renewing the bike node system in Utrecht. Suggested for technical visits.

Doorfietsroutes: Continuous cycle routes that stimulate both recreational and utilitarian cycling.

Dutch Cycling Embassy, Chris Bruntlett: What the world can learn from the Dutch…and what the Dutch can learn from the world.

Utrecht Marketing: Presentation on the joint cycling destination plan, ‘A Reason to Cycle,’ with the municipalities of Utrechtse Heuvelrug and the Province of Utrecht.

NTFU (National Tour Cycling Union): Representing 900,000 sport cyclists and their clubs. A presentation on recreational and sports cycling in the Netherlands and the efforts to promote this.

The Province of Utrecht:

• Integrated strategy and vision for tourism and recreation in the province. How cycling, routes, and networks are important assets and how they are implemented.
• Combining strategic plans for the economy and tourism (‘Omgevingswet program Recreation & Tourism 2022-2025’ and ‘Fiets program’ for mobility).
• Hosting the trilogy (Tour de France, Giro, and Vuelta): Benefits, effects for the region, and lessons learned.
• Waterlines (Dutch Water Line defense networks) weekend route. Thematic cultural/historic cycling routes in Utrecht and other provinces.
• The ‘15-minute policy’: Connecting cities and countryside so that recreational areas can be reached within 15 minutes by bike or public transport.

Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management:

• Role of the State Secretary Ministry of Infrastructure & Infrastructure , Chris Jansen, during the event.
• Social program ‘City Deal Cycling for Everyone’ (Fietsen voor Iedereen): How the Dutch Government promotes cycling among disadvantaged groups and its implementation in Utrecht.

Fietsersbond (Cyclists’ Union):

• How Fietsersbond stimulates recreational cycling, develops routes, and creates online tour guides.
• Featuring the Toertje app: the only real route planner for and by cyclists, made by the volunteers of Fietsersbond, offering thousands of kilometers of bike lanes and allowing users to choose a different route: green route, car free route, route for tricycles and easy route (for the elderly). This app is based on crowdsourcing amongst the volunteers of Fietsersbond.
• How Fietsersbond cooperates with organizations like the Nationaal Fietsplatform (NECC Representative Netherlands):
• Doortrappen: the Dutch National program to stimulate elderly people to keep on cycling as long as possible, safely, also for recreational purposes:

NBTC Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions:

• How they position the Netherlands as a cycling nation and the benefits.
• How cycling is used for destination development and to promote the Netherlands.
• Combining cycle tourism and health.
• Innovative cycling campaigns using the AI lifestyle tool ‘Add a Touch of Dutch to Your Street’: Dutch Cycling Lifestyle.
• How cycling helps distribute tourist flows evenly across the country and how this policy is applied in Utrecht.

Vereniging Wereldfietser: An association of 4,000 long-distance and adventurous cyclists, offering a magazine, newsletters, lectures, events, and a forum: Wereldfietser.

Fietsmaatjes: How people who are no longer able to cycle can enjoy recreational cycling through the use of duo-bikes: Fietsmaatjes.

Health Presentations by the Expert Panel Fietsen & Gezondheid (Cycling & Health):

• Presentation Fietsen Op Recept: how to implement ‘cycling therapy’ not only for prevention, but also for treatment of ailments.
• Presentation of the health benefits of cycling in general
• Presentation Bike safety