Amsterdam celebrates sunny Liberation day
Like everywhere else in the Netherlands, Amsterdam is celebrating a beautifully sunny Liberation Day on Thursday. As it is also Ascension Day, many Amsterdam residents have the day off to visit one of the many parties and events in the city.
The biggest Liberation Day party is happening in Westerpark, where Def P & de Beatbusters, singer-songwriter Eefje de Visser and punk band Indian Askin, among others, are performing. There is also a sunscreen stall in the park to make sure visitors don't go home with a sunburn, according to Het Parool.
Many Amsterdam residents and visitors are spending their free day on the canals. The waters are packed with boats, especially on the Amstel, where the traditional 5 May concert is taking place tonight.
Kids have their own liberation party in Voldenlpark, with bands and other forms of entertainment, according to the newspaper. A floating pontoon bridge was built across the IJ especially for this occasion. The bridge is a temporary monument to the makeshift pontoon bridge that served as a crossing between the city center and Amsterdam Noord between April and August 1945.
Only those who bought tickets can make the crossing on the temporary bridge however. Those who did not get tickets, can experience it here:
