King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is turning 51 this Friday, and traditionally his birthday is celebrated all over the country. Here, we present the biggest parties in Delft, Rotterdam, The Hague & Amsterdam.
Oranjekoorts (Orange Fever) is a big party on the Markt. (Photo: Oranjekoorts)
Delft
King’s Night is the night before ‘Willy’s’ official birthday. This year, it is on Thursday. Like every year, there is a big party on the Markt in Delft called Oranjekoorts (Orange fever). This year is the so-called pub edition, and the idea is to turn the Markt into a big open air pub. How? There will be live pub style music, a pub quiz with thousands of people, sing-along hits, bitterballen[JB1] , metres of beer and much more. Tickets are almost sold out, but if you hurry you can still get one here for 17.50 euro.
If you skipped the Oranjekoorts party, or you function well on little sleep, you can go to the flea market in the centre of Delft, which starts as early as 6 a.m. This Dutch tradition is upheld almost everywhere in the Netherlands, from big cities like Amsterdam to smaller towns. There is also a big fair on the Paardenmarkt, and there are live performances on the Markt throughout the day. If you want to enjoy this day accompanied by some beer, most cafés have a King’s Day party with live music, like de Oude Jan and Belgian beer café Belvedere.
King’s Night
On King’s Night, The Hague is hosting a big festival. Nine stages are spread throughout the city, each with its own music genre or theme. Besides music, the festival also has different kinds of food trucks and it is a nice walk through the city. The trains from The Hague Central to Delft will run until about 3 a.m., or you can come back with the night bus, so getting home will not be a problem. Besides The Hague, you can also go to festivals and parties in Rotterdam, Amsterdam or Leiden, for example. Every city organises a festival or at least several parties this night, so it is really just a matter of where you would like to go.
King’s Day
As with King’s Night, King’s Day is also celebrated throughout the country. Amsterdam is notorious for its King’s Day celebration: thousands of Dutchies and tourists flock to the capital on this day. Be warned that it can be very busy there, but for good reason: it is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, parties of the year in Amsterdam. An overview of the parties and events in Amsterdam on Friday is listed here, but you can also just go there to get a taste of the fun atmosphere. If you fear Amsterdam is too busy for you, here is an overview of fun parties in Rotterdam.
So grab your orange clothes from your closet and join the most Dutch holiday of the year!
6 Things to know about King’s Day
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