This is how the Netherlands celebrated King’s Day: ‘A big party’
The visit of the Oranges to Maastricht was actually planned for 2020, but was postponed twice due to corona. King Willem-Alexander is “intensely grateful” that today could actually take place. He and other members of the family warn how important it is that King’s Day can be celebrated “in peace and freedom”, referring to the Ukraine. “We sympathize very much with the people in Ukraine,” said Willem-Alexander in Maastricht.
less confidence
The visit to the Limburg capital came on the day that it is also known that trust in the king has been broken again. The annual NOS King’s Day survey showed that 47 percent of the Dutch say they have no confidence in the way in which he has received the monarchy. The holiday to Greece and Amalia’s birthday party during the corona crisis have affected the image of the royal family, among other things.
King Willem-Alexander spoke in a striking politically tinged response to the investigation of “constructive criticism”. Positive criticism is very good, he said. If that is not possible “then you can end up as poetry and nobody wants that”.
In terms of content, the king says he is not too concerned about the annual survey. “I think I have a long-term position in the Netherlands and that long-term position will make it all right.”
‘Everyone missed it’
In addition to Maastricht, people in other parts of the Netherlands also came out in large numbers for the king’s birthday (or to celebrate a good one). There were major music festivals in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Groningen, The Hague and Eindhoven that attracted tens of thousands of people.
A saying from Kingsland, which was organized in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Groningen, tells ANP news agency that the atmosphere there was as usual. “You notice that everyone missed it.”
It got a bit too busy here and there. For example, the municipality of Breda, where about 40,000 people attended the King’s Day party of radio station 538, called on revelers this afternoon not to come to the city anymore “to keep it cozy”. Also in Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Utrecht people were told to avoid parts of the center.
From Groningen to Maastricht and from Dalfsen to Schagen, this is how the Netherlands celebrated King’s Day today: