6 & 7 september 2026
6 & 7 september 2026
Talking with Harry van den Broek about designing for the Corso … it produces a book* which doesn’t finish with a full stop, but a comma. ‘Nomad’ is the title of his 88th design. This time for hamlet ’t Stuk.
“You see nomads throughout the entire world, trekking with loaded mules in their wake. They have no fixed place of abode; they travel from here to there. It is a timeless image,” says Harry. “Even extremely relevant today. Just think of Gaza. Refugees are nomads as it were. You witness those scenes on the television on a daily basis. People who are constantly searching for a new home front.”
The colossal scale model of ‘Nomad’ more or less occupies all of his attic studio. It is a genuine work of sculpture, carved out of a single piece. “We see a man with a loaded mule ploughing through water, his gaze in search for a new place to stay. The man is enveloped is long cloak which acts as protection from the front to the back of the float. The float enshrouds itself as it were,” explains Harry.
The colour palette is purple, white and pink. Typical Harry? “I have perhaps become well-known for it, but I certainly wasn’t the first to opt for this combination of colours.” And what is a typical Harry-float? That’s for others to decide. One line can be detected in his designs. Figurative and sleek, he thinks.
The scale model is the final result of more than two months of work. It was preceded by a drawing, which had been entitled: ‘Christopher’. “After a suggestion by my nephew Damian van den Broek it became ‘Nomad’. Nephew Eddy van den Broek came up with an idea for the music. So, it became the creation by the ‘Van-den-Broek-trio.” Harry explains: “My 88th design is also an ode to my father Jan van den Broek, who in the forties and fifties was a float designer in the Zundert Corso.”
And it’s not just the design alone. Harry: “I want to be at the construction site as much as possible. In that sense I am not an observer of the construction. I help the builders setting up and making components.” And as everyone has known for years: if you ask Harry to do it, then it will be a success.
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Harry van den Broek (84) has been designing since 1965. This is the second float for ‘t Stuk and his 88th design for Zundert. He has created designs for Tiel and Lichtenvoorde Corsos a number of times.
Original Dutch Text: Eric Elich
Translation: Mary Tyne
Photo: José van Trijp Fotografie
Hamlet ‘t Stuk
www.tstuk.nl
This article is brought to you by Corsief. An independent magazine about corsos in general and the Zundert flower parade in particular. The magazine is produced entirely by volunteers, who are all more or less active in the Zundert flower parade world. Corsief is entirely full-colour and appears four times a year.