Over 200,000 tulips will be given away for free in Amsterdam today
Amsterdam residents and visitors will be able to visit a special garden set up in the Museumplein on Saturday to celebrate National Tulip Day. Attendees will be allowed to pick a bunch of tulips for free.
The theme for this year’s National Tulip Day is “Typical Dutch.” Over 200,000 tulips of different varieties and colors will be available for the event. This edition is the 11th time that the event has been organized. In previous years, it was also held in front of the Royal Palace on Dam Square.
Dutch speed skating champion Irene Schouten will be the guest of honor this year, and will open the garden at 1 p.m. The Olympic medalist is also the daughter of a tulip farmer, and she will be presented with the new Dutch Pearl tulip. The flower is named for Johannes Vermeer’s painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring.
People involved with the event will dress up in costumes reflecting that work, as well as Vermeer’s Milkmaid. The Rijksmuseum, which is located near the tulip event, will open a special exhibit on the painter’s career on February 10.
National Tulip Day is normally held every third Saturday in January.
