Remembrance, Liberation Day plans announced

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte will attend the National Remembrance in Amsterdam on Monday, May 4th. Prime Minister Rutte will also be present at the Liberation Day festival in Vlissingen on Tuesday, May 5th. There he will light the liberation fire as the start of the National Celebration of Liberation, which happens once every 5 years.

The King and Queen, Princess Beatrix and the Prime Minister will also attend the May 5th concert that evening, the conclusion of the National Celebration of Liberation.

After the memorial service at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam on May 4th, the King and Queen will lay down a wreath at the National Monument on the Dam. Prime Minister Rutte, Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of Defense, State Secretary Martin van Rijn of Health and the plenipotentiary ministers of Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maartin will lay down the wreath on behalf of the National Council of Ministers. Prime Minister Mark Rutte will also give a speech.

On May 5th the Prime Minister will attend the speech at the National Celebration of Liberation in Vlissingen. The theme of the celebration is "Pass on Freedom". The speech will be given by Israeli writer David Grossman, a champion of freedom in the Middle East. At the Festival the Prime Minister will give a speech after which he will light the liberation fire around 13:00 p.m. as the signal that the 14 Liberation Festivals in the country are opened.

Finally King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Beatrix and Prime Minister Mark Rutte will attend the May 5th concert in Amsterdam as the closing of the National Celebration of Liberation. The concert traditionally takes place on and around the Amstel in front of the Royal Theater Carre