Interview by Lisanne van der Eijk
In 2012, Wiebe Wieling was for a brief period, the most important man in the Netherlands. However, the magical and highly appreciated words that everyone hoped to hear, "It giet oan!" (It's going ahead!), were never uttered by him. Even in the years that followed, no cold spell was severe enough for the Frisian to announce the start of the Elfstedentocht. With only one more year left as chairman and rising temperatures, it seems that the opportunity to call those words is unlikely to come..
Since his appointment as chairman in 2005, Wiebe Wieling has never had the experience of organising an Elfstedentocht, which remains a disappointment for him. “It’s been nineteen times that it hasn’t happened. I would be lying if I said it didn’t bother me; that’s true for every board member. I still have one more winter to go. But I wouldn’t say that the absence of “De Tocht” hurts me, because I have had an incredible amount of joy over the years. I’ve been to places I otherwise wouldn’t have visited, and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful people.”
