Royals visit Amersfoort for King's Day: what to expect
King Willem-Alexander and his family are visiting Amersfoort today to celebrate the King's 52nd birthday. The Royal family will walk a route of just over a kilometer through the city center, encountering various performances and exhibitions.
The Royals are expected to arrive on Kleine Haag at Marienhof at 11:00 a.m., where they will be welcomed by the mayor. The King and Queen will then take a photo with the day's storytellers, who will share the tale of Amersfoort and the region around it throughout the day.
The welcome will be accompanied by music performed by children from various primary schools in the region, the adult choir from theater school De Springplank, pop choir Basic & Full choir, Amersfoort's men's choir and Ciska and Sonja.
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As the Royals walk across the Zuidsingel, they will be presented with Amersfoort in all its diversity by the Arteganza Founation along with a large number of local residents and De Waterlijn. According to the municipality, Amersfoort is home to people 120 different nationalities, different religions and all walks of life. "Amersfoort is of and for everyone. And we do that together, because here strangers quickly become friends", the municipality said in its King's Day program.
A bit further up the road, the Royal guests will find 'Boogiewoogie Mondriaan' - various music companies playing with a nod to artist Piet Mondriaan, whose birth place is a stone's throw from Zuidsingel.
On Varkensmarkt, Amersfoort will show off its efforts in recycling and being more sustainable. "With solar energy electric cars can be charged. And because of car-sharing, we need fewer parking places. Therefore there is more room for greenery and socializing on the street. A good place to start a garden with compost made from our kitchen waste", the municipality said.
The CliniClowns and puppeteer Leo will give a joint performance on Krankeledenstraat, dubbed "A street full of theater!"
At the foot of the Onze Lieve Vrouwe tower, better known as Lange Jan among the locals, the festivities will focus on the women of the region with the subtitle 'care for each other and religion'. On the square everyone can enjoy music by various artists, while the Royal Family is introduced to a number of extraordinary Amersfoort women of different ages.
When the Royals enters Westsingel, they will be greeted by Holland Opera - a nationally known company with its roots in Amersfoort - who will perform a short scene.
On Hellestraat, Aantal Bos, Thijs Trompet and Marisja Smit will make "ingenious" use of pallets and poles to great art projects. The Royals will then be invited to explore the Amersfoort talent, including street football, dance, innovation, free-running, and 3x3 basketball. This will be followed by a Region Quizz, in which teams from all nine municipalities in the region will compete against each other and teach the crowd more about the region.
On Plantsoen-West the park, the road to it from St Pieters and Blolands Gasthuis, and part of the Smalle Pad will be a festival terrain today, with music and dancing and local talents displaying their skills. This festival will stay open to the public after the visit.
Further up the road Amersfoort Zoo will present its interpretation of royal animals. And at Koppelpoort there will be a short theater spectacle with contributions from the city trumpeters of Amersfoort.
King's Day in Amersfoort ends on Eemplein at around 1:00 p.m. with a festive end show, musically accompanied by the Marcel Fisser Band. Artists and story tellers from the route return, and everyone will sing the Wilhelmus and say farewell to the Royal visitors.
