Police fear King’s Day parties, unrest with dry, sunny day predicted

For the second year in a row, residents in the Netherlands are been asked to stay home and strictly limit guests in their homes for King's Day. With a sunny spring day expected in most of the country, authorities are worried that a large number of parties will be held in violation of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

“Despite calls to celebrate the holiday in a small circle this year, we do see people making plans to go out”, president of the police union NPB, Jan Stuijs, said to NOS. On social media illegal parties have been announced that are scheduled to take place in parks, recreational areas, student flats and on terraces.

King Willem-Alexander is set to visit Eindhoven on Tuesday as part of a King’s Day program. “We ask everyone to digitally follow the day we organized for the king, queen and princesses,” the city said in a message.

The warm spring weather is likely to create a festive mood. All throughout King’s Day, the sun is expected to shine. The national weather institute, KNMI, indicated a near-zero percent chance of rain for the holiday. Temperatures are predicted to be pleasant, ranging from 11 degrees Celsius in the north to 17 degrees Celsius in the south.

A gentle breeze from the east is expected throughout the country. Around noon, the wind will shift come from the north along the northern coastal areas.

King’s Day will end this year with a special event. Overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday, a supermoon should be visible. During a supermoon, the full moon appears around seven percent larger and 14 percent fuller than normal, Weerplaza stated. This is due to the moon being about 17 thousand miles closer to the Earth than average. It will be the first time since 1909 a supermoon takes place on the same date as King’s Day.

The moonrise will be at 9:40 p.m. on Tuesday in the southeastern sky, and will be at its brightest in the early morning hours that follow. The next time a supermoon will coincide with King’s Day will be in 2127, assuming Willem-Alexander remains on the throne.