The red, white and blue flag in the 4Days Marches logo has been flying proudly on all official 4Days Marches communications for over twenty years now. Even so, the orange and green 4Days Marches flag is still very much associated with the multi-day walking event in Nijmegen. How come? We asked two 4Days Marches experts to explain.

4Days Marches flag

Long before Stichting DE 4DAAGSE even existed, it was the Royal Dutch League for Physical Education (Nederlandse Bond voor Lichamelijke Opvoeding, NBvLO), the precursor to the Royal Dutch Walking Association (Koninklijke Wandel Bond Nederland, KWBN), which organised the very first 4Days Marches back in 1909. The flag they used on that occasion was the Royal Dutch League for Physical Education’s own official orange and green flag. The 4Days Marches flag as we know it today is a simplified version of the Royal Dutch League for Physical Education’s original association flag. Marcel Claassen, a member of Stichting DE 4DAAGSE’s Archive & Tradition committee, points out that the combination of orange and green has featured in 4Days Marches communications and material ever since. ‘In the heart of the badge for demonstrated marching skill, for example, i.e. the 4Days Marches Cross. However, this is a coat of arms and not an official 4Days Marches logo.’

Not an official brand

Why then is it that the logo features the Dutch national flag instead of the colours orange and green? For over 30 years, right through to the most recent edition of the 4Days Marches, Bram Brinkman was responsible for PR and sponsoring for the event. In this role, he was also responsible for the current 4Days Marches logo. ‘It’s very important to bear in mind that for a long time the 4Days Marches was not a registered trademark,’ says Bram. ‘It wasn’t until Stichting DE 4DAAGSE was formed and took over organisation of the event at the start of this century that we had to start thinking about a brand and a logo.’ Bram explains why it is important to have a brand registered. ‘If your brand is not registered, anyone can use your colours. And it is also impossible to start a merchandising operation, for example. The organisation always used to use the colours orange and green, but Stichting DE 4DAAGSE didn’t hold any rights to these colours. This made it hard to launch any commercial activities.’

The origins of red, white and blue

While the colours red, white and blue conjure up images of the Dutch national flag, these colours actually came from the 4Days Marches magazine. ‘All of the 4Days Marches’ printed matter had been featuring a vertical red, white and blue bar for years. As you can imagine, we could hardly use that as it was, so we opted to create a brand containing these colours. The logo was subsequently designed by a designer and registered with the trademark agency.’ Those of you with a keen eye will furthermore have noticed the word ‘DE’, which is ‘the’ in Dutch, in the logo of the 4Days Marches and Stichting DE 4DAAGSE. ‘There was a specific reason for that. At the time, some people would refer to the event as ‘Nijmeegse 4Daagse’ or by some variation on the actual name. By including the word “de” in the logo, we were basically claiming that we were the 4Days Marches.’

Preserving the current logo

Bram is aware of the fact that the launch of the new website will come with some minor changes to the existing logo. ‘I was asked for advice on these changes. The 4Days Marches is now a very strong brand, so I advised them to change as little as possible. Sponsors use the logo in their communications and the colours we now have resonate with more and more people. Sure, modernising is a good thing, but this is simply 'the' 4Days Marches logo.’