Virtual reality King's Day to raise funds for food banks

Virtual reality developer Vrroom is hosting the Netherlands' first ever King's Day VR Festival, given that the usual King's Day celebrations can't happen due to restrictions in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The VR party will have room for some 30 thousand attendees and proceeds of ticket sales will be donated to the Food Bank, AD reports.

The festival will be "held" on Dam Square in Amsterdam and includes music performances and a light show. Good VR glasses are required to attend the festival, but there will also be a live stream available for visitors without this technology. Visitors can order a virtual beer from a virtual bar, go wild on the dance floor, and virtually shake hands with King Willem-Alexander and wish him happy birthday.

The festival will be from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on April 27, with ticket prices starting at 7.50 euros. The music program includes performances by Kwamgo, Vangrail, DJ Jochem Hemerling, and a mystery guest.

"When I drove past the umpteenth poster for a King's Day event that could no longer take place, I thought: can't we organize a festival in VR?" Initiator Schelte Meinsma said to the newspaper. According to Meinsma, getting 30 thousand visitors in one virtual environment will be groundbreaking - so far the maximum people simultaneously in a VR environment was 285. So there is a chance of technical glitches, he warned.