Amsterdam says goodbye to Mayor Eberhard van der Laan
Amsterdam residents can say their final goodbyes to Mayor Eberhard van der Laan in the Concertgebouw today between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. People will be allowed in two at a time to walk past his coffin and say goodbye. There will be an honor guard of Amsterdam veterans, the police, homeless people, city enforcers and 'night butterflies' Dolly Bellefleur and Jennifer Hopelezz at the building, AT5 reports.
Van der Laan passed away last week 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.
The Amsterdam mayor's funeral and burial will happen on Saturday in a closed circle of family and friends and invited guests.
On Friday and Saturday, all police and fire brigade vehicles in Amsterdam will drive around with a mourning ribbon attached to them. Flags in the city are hanging half-mast until after the funeral. Prime Minister Mark Rutte also ordered flags on all government buildings across the Netherlands to hang half mast on Saturday.
At 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, all buses, subways, trams and ferries in Amsterdam will stand still for a minute to honor the mayor.
Van der Laan's 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.
