No events until after May 5, mayors say

Dutch mayors will issue no permits for major events in the Netherlands until at least May 6, the mayors that head the 25 security regions decided in their weekly Security Council meeting o Monday. Hubert Bruls, chairman of the council and mayor of Nijmegen, said afterwards that people will likely only be allowed to gather en masse again "towards the summer", NOS reports.

According to Bruls, there is a lot of excitement around event access with negative coronavirus tests. But if the government decides to walk that route, it first has to be tested on a small scale. "It sounds very nice on paper, but we've never done it in the Netherlands," Bruls said. It will therefore take time before it can be used for major events.

This decision means that King's Day on April 27 and Liberation Day on May 5 will again not be celebrated on a large scale this year. The pandemic also moved these celebrations online last year.

The 4 and 5 May Committee announced this week that the Liberation Festivals will again be online this year, with more than 200 performances via live stream on May 5. Davina Michelle, Tino Martin and Jonna Fraser were named the Ambassadors of Freedom for 2021.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will spend the King's birthday in Eindhoven this year, but without the usual crowds. Some small-scale activities will be arranged, especially for children and the elderly, but the majority of this event will be held online.