Public memorial for Amsterdam mayor Van der Laan on Friday

The public can say their last goodbyes to Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan in the Concertgebouw in the capital on Friday, the municipality announced. Between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. anyone who wants to say goodbye can walk past his coffin and leave a condolence message. A private funeral will be held on Saturday.

Van der Laan passed away on Thursday after a months long battle with metastatic lung cancer. He stepped down as mayor on September 18th, informing Amsterdam residents in a letter that his doctors can do nothing further for him. "Take care of our city and of each other", he wrote to the Amsterdammers.

His death, though expected, rocked the city of Amsterdam and the Netherlands as a whole. The King and Queen, numerous politicians, businesses, museums, sports clubs and Dutch citizens reached out to share their condolences.

According to NU.nl, all flags on municipal buildings in Amsterdam will hang at half-mast until after the funeral.