Liberation Day: 530 people participated in freedom meal in the Hague

In The Hague this year, 530 people attended the so-called freedom meal, the largest in the country. The lunch was originally planned to take place on the Lange Voorhout, but was moved to the Grote Kerk due to bad weather.

The afternoon was kicked off by mayor Jan van Zanen and television chef London Loy, who provided the recipe for this year's Freedom Soup. A competition for a side dish was held among the residents of the Hofstad. The winning dishes were served to guests on Friday. "The Hague Freedom Meal has once again proven to be a great opportunity to promote cultural diversity, artistic talent and social engagement," said Marcel Westerdiep, chairman of Stichting Museumkwartier Den Haag.

In Amsterdam, the freedom meal was also moved indoors due to the weather. It was to be held on Amsterdam's Magere Brug over the Amstel river, but was moved to the Mozes en Aäronkerk, organizers said. "We looked at the weather for a while, but we still took the plunge and are happy to be inside now," a spokesperson said. There were 120 guests seated at the table.

This year’s freedom meal was all about hospitality and solidarity. Children who were housed in host families during the Hunger Winter of 1944 and 1945 dine together with status holders who fled to the Netherlands and live in host families there. The original site, the Magere Brug, was chosen because it was raised in 1941 to isolate the former Jewish quarter.