King's Day in the Netherlands: What to expect

Today is King’s Day in the Netherlands, a day full of celebrations to mark the monarch’s birthday. King Willem-Alexander and his family will celebrate in Doetinchem, which has a whole lineup of events planned for the royals, locals, and other visitors. But there are many other parties and flea markets across the country. The weather will be sunny and warm.

Doetinchem has a day filled with fun cultural activities lined up for King Willem-Alexander and his family, starting with a welcoming song by the band Normaal. Along the route, the Royals will see presentations of arts, cultures, food, and performances from within the region.

The route ends at the festival site at the historic Walmolen, where duo Suzan & Freek will perform their song De Overkant, a tribute to the Achterhoek, accompanied by the Gelders Orkest Phion. A map and more details are available here.

The King’s Day festivities in Doetinchem will start an hour later than planned, to give space for Pope Francis’s funeral, which starts at 10:00 a.m. Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Minister Caspar Veldkamp of Foreign Affairs will rerpesent the Netherlands at the funeral.

Elsewhere in the country, people in the Netherlands will celebrate King Willem-Alexander’s birthday with flea markets and all kinds of parties.

In Amsterdam, for example, there’s the Kingsland festival in the Olympic Stadium, the Burst festival in the Meerpark, and Cartel Kingsday in WestWeelde, Parool reported. The nightclub Radio Radio is holding a block party in the Westerpark from 1:00 p.m., and an afterparty starts there at 8:00 p.m.

In Rotterdam, there’s the KBF in the Kralingse Bos, Oranjebitter in the Roel Langepark, and the Oranje festival on the Noordplein. There will also be a fireworks show on the Schiehaven from 10:00 p.m., AD reported.

NS will be running more and longer trains on King’s Day to get everyone to the festivities they want to attend. “The biggest crowds are expected this year around the cities of Amsterdam, Arnhem, Breda, Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Zwolle, and Doetinchem,” the NS said earlier this month. Amsterdam has asked people to avoid the city center on King’s Day due to overcrowding fears.

This year, King’s Day is celebrated on April 26 instead of on the King’s actual birthday, April 27. That is because Willem-Alexander’s birthday fell on a Sunday this year, and the tradition is to preserve the Sunday rest.