Looking back at 2025 and our future outlook: A smoother journey to Wheels Mariënwaerdt

Wheels Mariënwaerdt 2025 was a magnificent celebration. Last September, thousands of car enthusiasts joined us for an event filled with highlights, gleaming chrome, roaring engines, and a fantastic atmosphere on the estate. In every respect, it was an edition that showcased the rapid growth of our event. Precisely because we so deeply enjoy this shared passion, we also want to critically examine the moments last year when things didn't run as smoothly.

When we moved from Paleis Soestdijk to Landgoed Mariënwaerdt in 2024, we were enthusiastic about its central location along the A2 motorway and the ample parking facilities. After a successful first edition, we saw plenty of room for growth. That growth materialized faster than predicted at the last edition. Combined with the changeable weather forecasts for Sunday, this led to a challenging traffic and parking situation. This has provided us with valuable insights to organize it even better in the future. While a certain level of busyness is logical for an event of this size, some of our visitors experienced significant delays on Sunday. This negatively impacted their visit, and we deeply regret that.

Concrete improvements for the upcoming edition

After the event, we didn't stand still; we immediately started investigating how we could improve this in the future. Our main goal is to ensure that the access routes can handle the capacity and that the parking areas regulate the inflow as efficiently as possible. In close cooperation with the estate and local authorities, we have drawn up an adjusted traffic plan. This plan should drastically improve traffic flow through the following measures:

• Two separate access routes: A northern and a southern access route will be implemented from the A2 motorway. This significantly increases capacity, ensuring that local roads and the A2 exits remain clear.
• Doubling of parking capacity: A second parking area will be added to the estate. With over 4 hectares of additional space, this will more than double the parking capacity. 
• Clear signage (and ignore navigation systems): We are investing in additional roadside signage. These signs will also instruct visitors to disregard navigation apps like Google Maps or Apple Maps. Our research showed that many bottlenecks occurred because these 'smart' apps started calculating alternative shortcuts as soon as main roads became busy.

Looking forward to a fantastic edition together!

With these concrete adjustments in place, we look forward to the upcoming edition with full confidence and immense energy. Behind the scenes, we are already busy putting together a breathtaking program full of unique cars and entertainment. Thanks to the adjusted traffic plan, not only the day itself, but also the journey to it, promises to be a top-notch experience.

We hope to welcome you all again in September to the beautiful Landgoed Mariënwaerdt!