Car-free Sundays during the global oil crisis

In October 1973, the Netherlands was the only western European country to face a full oil embargo from the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, OAPEC. During the global oil crisis, they became the first country in Europe to introduce car-free Sundays with most private cars banned from public roads on Sundays. Wim Meijer was the State Secretary for Culture, Recreation and Social Work in the Den Uyl Labour Government. He speaks to Surya Elango. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space. (Photo: Car-free Sundays in the Netherlands. Credit: Anefo Collection, Nationaal Archief)

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Car-free Sundays during the global oil crisis is an episode from Witness by BBC.

This episode is 10:54 long.

This episode was published on Apr 28, 2026.

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