King Willem-Alexander going to Rotterdam for King's Day; City spent €4 million on party

King Willem-Alexander and his family will visit Rotterdam today to celebrate his birthday. The port city spent an estimated 4 million euros to make this King’s Day, which also marks Willem-Alexander’s 10th year on the throne, a special one. That is over 2.5 times more than Maastricht spent last year, NOS reports.

The Royals’ official program starts on the Africkaanderplein at 11:00 a.m. The full program can be found here. The first Oranje fans were already lining the route early on Thursday morning.

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, princesses Amalia and Ariane, and various other members of the royal family will attend the festivities in Rotterdam. Princess Alexia is missing the celebration due to exams, the government information service Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst reported. She attends the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales.

To make sure that King’s Day runs safely and smoothly, Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb issued an emergency ordinance for several parts of the city. Among other things, that means that no drones, cars, motorcycles, and dangerous substances are allowed in the area of and around the Royal Family’s route. It also means the police can stop and search people if necessary. The emergency decree expires at 2:00 p.m.