Amsterdam Holland
Queensday 30 AprilDon’t miss out on this incredible, orange colored, birthday party of our (former)
queen! On Queensday everyone in the Netherlands celebrates the birth of
queen Juliana. Nowadays Beatrix is wearing the crown but April 30 remains the party
date for our Queens birthdays.
Queen’s Day, celebrated on April 30, is the most festive occasion of the year.
Amsterdam is particularly famous for the all-out parties that commence.
You will see plenty of orange on this day, as it represents the House of Orange,
which is the name of the current Dutch dynasty. The current monarch visits towns
on Queen’s Day where special celebrations often in the form of demonstrations of
old-fashioned dances and crafts take place. What makes Queen’s Day truly unique,
however, are the stalls set up by the roadside. Queen’s Day is known as a ‘free
market’
day when people sell household goods they no longer need: the Dutch equivalent of
our garage sales. See website for yearly details.
Royal madness starts on Queensnight, the 29th of April. There will be open stages
with
live music and DJ’s everywhere in Amsterdam, and numerous parties are organized in
bars
and clubs all over the city.
When the night tiptoes into day, Queensday pulls in on the 30th of April. Especially
Amsterdam,
Den Haag and Utrecht will attract huge crowds all gathering in the streets, parks
and cruising
through the canals in tiny boats. On queensdaythere will also be a vrijmarkt, a
market for anyone
and everyone in Amsterdam to sell their attic crap, old clothes and whatever you can
think of in
the streets. Same as the night before, there will be bands, live music, and DJ’s on
every
street corner and in every bar, it´s one big party! At night, parties rave on in the
cities’
bigger clubs.
