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The Dutch Koi & Pond Days, also known as the KOI 2000 show, is
organised by the Dutch/Belgian Koi club KOI 2000. It’s one of the two national
Koi shows in The Netherlands and is getting more and more well-respected every
year. Since 2004 the show, which takes 3 days, is held at Safari Zoo Beekse
Bergen, with 110 acres
the biggest wildlife zoo of Europe.
The zoo is
located in Hilvarenbeek, a small town near the city of Tilburg. Usually the show gets between 13.000
and 15.000 visitors, which is very special for a Koi show that isn’t held in a
holiday period! Visitors come from all over the world, but especially from The
Netherlands, Belgium,
Luxembourg Germany and the UK.
The Dutch Koi & Pond Days are easy to access, even when you’re coming from
the UK;
a separate highway junction leads you directly to the show grounds! Arriving at
the zoo, parking your car is costless. Furthermore there a two airports close
by (Eindhoven and Rotterdam), Tilburg Central Station from
which special bus lines will bring you to the wildlife zoo. For adults it costs
€ 10,- to visit the show and for
kids of 6 – 12 years € 5,-. Kids younger than 6 years enter for free.
In 2007 513 Koi entered the show; 80% of the competitors were bigger than
50cm. The Koi are shown by both hobbyists and dealers, but – to keep it fair -
in a separate competition. However, the major awards concern the combined
competition. The KOI 2000 show is unique when it comes to the high standards of
the technique, water management and biosecurity. In the square glass fibre vats
(2*2*1m) there’s a continuous low-flow water supply under supervision of
a specialised veterinarian. This way the Koi are kept under strict conditions:
the parameters are measured digitally an the water temperature stays continuous
thanks to water heaters. Apart from the normal vats, there are 7 so-called ‘jumbo
vats’ too. These jumbo vats, measuring 3,5*3,5*1,2m, are for the biggest
Nishikigoi in the competition. The show is judged by both BKKS and Shinkokai
judges, and the show rules are based on those from the BKKS. Prominent people
who judged the show in the past are for example the Yagenji brothers, Masaru
Saito (Shintaro) and Takashi Kawakami. This year the show will be judged by
Alan Coogan, Mr. Haruo Aki and Mr. Hisashi Hirasawa (Marudo Koi farm).
The grant embraces more than 100 stands, most of which sell Koi and/or
dry goods. But there are also stand holders with art, bonsai, garden plants,
garden ornaments and Japanese gadgets. Also there’ll be an exhibition of
Japanese (Amano) nature aquariums. Furthermore, the KOI 2000 show is
well-known for its beautiful show gardens surrounding the stage. Last year a
‘replica’ of Niigata
was made. Once you’ve visited the Koi show, you can also have a look in the
wildlife zoo with zebra’s, lions and monkeys!
The price giving
ceremony is held at Sunday 25th. Most important awards: Grand
Champion, Supreme Champion, Mature Champion, Jumbo Champion, Adult Champion,
Baby Champion, Most Unique Koi, Best Dutch Hobbyist, Best Belgian Hobbyist.
For more information
You can visit the website in the English language at www.koi2000.com/show or send an email to
Henny van Groesen (
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
).
The show is organised by KOI 2000 (www.koi2000.com/en).
2007’s Grand
Champion
Kohaku, 4 years
old, size 7, 74cm. Owner: Kokugyo Koi ‘t Viske (Belgium). Breeder: Sakai Hiroshima (SFF). ‘Smiley’,
as this Kohaku is called, stems directly from the ‘Beauty Smile’ lineage of Sakai
Fish Farm.
How to get there
Location of the
show ground: Safari Zoo Beekse Bergen Hilvarenbeek, near Tilburg, The Netherlands. Nearest train
station: Tilburg
Central Station. Nearest airports: Eindhoven
Airport (www.eindhovenairport.com) and RotterdamAirport (www.rotterdam-airport.com ).
Nearest ferries (<1 hour driving): Harwich – Hook of Holland and Hull – Europoort (www.ferry-to-holland.com ). Nearest
hotel: there are 6 hotels within a 10 minutes range. The Mercure Hotel Tilburg (www.mercure-tilburg.nl) is one of
them.
Also see:
Programme
Accessibility
Press info
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Koi and Pond Days 
