OXFORD’S oldest twin city link, with Leiden in the Netherlands, reaches another milestone in its history this year – its 75th anniversary. Celebrations will be muted because of coronavirus, but will still go ahead thanks to the wonders of new technology.

The BplusC dance group from Leiden has already appeared with young Oxford dancers on a video which is streaming online.

The Lord Mayor, Mark Lygo, and the Burgomaster, Henri Lenferink, will exchange greetings from their own Town Halls at a virtual meeting on anniversary day, next Friday at 10.30am.

Link members in both cities will be invited to join in, and will have their own celebration later that day via Zoom at 7pm.

Oxford’s annual visit to Leiden in May has been cancelled. Members usually lay wreaths on Dutch Remembrance Day in memory of war victims and take part in Liberation Day celebrations, marking the end of German occupation of the Netherlands in the Second World War.

But the planting of a hornbeam tree, a gift from Oxford members to mark the anniversary, in a new Leiden park is expected to go ahead in their absence.

A decision on celebrations in Oxford in early July will be made soon.

Oxford chairman John Chipperfield said: “We are looking forward to meeting our many friends from Leiden to mark the anniversary, through virtual celebrations.

“We are very proud the link has remained strong over 75 years and look forward to meeting in person again as soon as possible.”

The Oxford-Leiden link was one of more than 30 set up between British and Dutch cities in a bid to promote friendship in Europe after the Second World War.

The inaugural meeting was held in the Mayor’s Parlour at Oxford Town Hall on March 26, 1946, with the mayor, Alderman David Oliver, in the chair.

Representatives of 11 city sports groups were at the meeting, and the first exchange took place just five months later, with Oxford swimmers and athletes setting off for Leiden in August.

It was the start of regular friendly rivalry between sportsmen and women in the two cities.

The new organisation was named the Anglo-Netherlands Sports Association, a title which became even more cumbersome when cultural groups joined in and it became the Anglo-Netherlands Sports and Cultural Association. It later adopted the simpler and easier-to-remember Oxford-Leiden Link.

Twenty years ago, link officers estimated that at least 10,000 people had taken part in exchanges since 1946 and that number has increased significantly since then.

The link is recognised in Oxford in several ways, most notably by Leiden Square in the Westgate Centre. Other reminders are a stained glass window at Oxford Town Hall, a mosaic at the back of the Town Hall in Blue Boar Street, and Leiden Road in Headington.

The link is always looking for new groups to take part in exchanges. For details, see the website at oxford-leiden.org.uk

It is one of eight Oxford twin city links. The link with Bonn in Germany celebrates its 75th anniversary next year.

l More details on the Oxford-Leiden twinning link from from oxford-leiden.org.uk