Saturday, September 28 in Dordrecht, The Netherlands, the European Drum Corps Championships brought together a cross-section of 16 performing ensembles from five different countries for a rousing competitive event.
Located at the home of FC Dordrecht, the event featured 12 competitors across three different classifications.
Respective championships went to Beeches (Premier Class), Jong Jubal (Junior Class), and Blue Bandits (Concert Class).
“It is an amazing feeling to say that we are once again European Drum Corps Champions for the second year in a row,” Beeches shared on its official Facebook page. “To be able to finish on a win and take gold for our 50th anniversary year is indescribable.”
PREMIER CLASS
🇬🇧 1. Beeches » 88.650 (Caption Awards: Color Guard)
🇩🇪 2. Blue Diamonds » 88.200 (Caption Awards: Brass, Effect, Visual)
🇩🇪 3. Spirit of 52 » 87.150 (Caption Awards: Percussion, Music)
🇧🇪 4. Showkorps WIK » 79.150
🇮🇪 5. Inbhear Mor » 71.900
The event’s top classification saw some serious competitive intrigue between the morning Prelims and evening Finals competitions, as defending champion Beeches of Birmingham, England came out of the Prelims trailing Germany’s Blue Diamonds by 0.7 points.
In Finals, though, Beeches flipped the script, overtaking Blue Diamonds by 0.45 points thanks largely to their strong scores in the Visual caption. Blue Diamonds earned first place in the Effect caption, while Germany’s Spirit of 52, the event’s third-place finisher — ended just 1.05 points out of second with the top score in Music.
Oostende, Belgium’s Showkorps WIK nearly broke 80 points for fourth place, while Inbhear Mor, Ireland’s sole competitor, rounded out the Premier Class lineup in fifth place, scoring 71.900.
"WIK was the talk of the day," event organizer Hans Kloppert said. "The more traditional showband surprised everyone again this year, having added a few color guard dancers to their production for the very first time ever since the the band's formation in 1951."
For Beeches’ Saturday’s title marked its second in as many weeks, as the corps also took home top prize at the Drum Corps United Kingdom Championships, September 21.
JUNIOR CLASS
🇳🇱 1. Jong Jubal » 80.100 (Caption Awards: Brass, Percussion, Music, Visual, Effect)
🇩🇪 2. Diamond Cadets » 71.350 (Caption Awards: Color Guard)
🇳🇱 3. Jong Holland Junioren » 61.450
Jong Jubal earned its seventh-consecutive Junior Class title in resounding fashion, scoring 80.100 to top all corps in the division. The win marks an unmatched 14th European title for the Dutch corps.
While Jong Jubal’s margin was nearly nine points over the second-place Diamond Cadets of Nienhagen, Germany, the corps didn’t sweep all captions. Diamond Cadets earned first place in color guard, while Jong Jubal earned top scores in all other categories.
Jong Holland Junioren earned a score of 61.450 for third place, while outscoring Diamond Cadets in percussion.
CONCERT CLASS
🇩🇪 1. Blue Bandits » 84.000
🇩🇪 2. Brass and Drum Crps Kriftel » 83.300
🇧🇪 3. Starlight Performance Ensemble » 50.100
🇳🇱 4. Drumfanfare DKV » DNP
Concert Class competition saw a close race between its top-two ensembles; Blue Bandits of Hagenburg, Germany earned first place in both Prelims and Finals, but by fewer than two points in both events.
In Finals competition, the Blue Bandits outscored the second-place Brass and Drum Corps Kriftel of Germany by 0.7 points, largely building its advantage on strong scores in the Music and Effect captions. Brass and Drum Corps Kriftel earned first place in Ensemble Music and Visual.
The Starlight Performance Ensemble of Mortsel, Belgium took third place with a score of 50.100, while Drumfanfare DKV of The Netherlands — which earned third place in Prelims — did not participate in the Finals competition.
EXHIBITION CORPS
A handful of corps also participated in exhibition at Saturday’s event, many who have been past European champions:
🇳🇱 Jubal - Dordrecht, the Netherlands
🇳🇱 Beatrix - Hilversum, The Netherlands
🇳🇱 Jong Beatrix - Hilversum, The Netherlands
🇩🇪 Youngstars - Rastede, Germany
Next year's European Championships are scheduled to take place Saturday, September 27, 2025, at FC Dordrecht stadium in the Netherlands.