Amsterdam Queens Day Festival – It’s orange and entertainment wrapped in one!
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010Well the flight ban is finally lifting as it looks like the volcanic ash cloud continues to subside, so where do our thoughts immediately turn? To the colour orange of course! OK, maybe not immediately, or at all for that matter, but orange is the colour of the day for Amsterdam’s Queens Day Festival held on the 30th April every year and it’s definitely a worthy place for our mind to wander.
The Queens Day (Koninginnedag) Festival, although celebrated throughout the Netherlands is particularly attractive in Amsterdam, and sees the entire city come alive for Queens Night (Koninginnenacht), the eve of 29th April, and the entire Queens Day itself. Up to 70,000 people flood the city in a sea of orange to dance, drink, trade, party and enjoy the festivities ranging from rock concerts to free trade markets. It’s a national holiday to celebrate the Queens birthday and represents a day of national unity and “togetherness”, all while wearing the colour orange (as reference to the colours of the House of Orange-Nassau).
Queens Night celebrations begin around 7pm and go on until the early hours of Queens Day. All the clubs, bars and restaurants organise special festival parties and open air events are very common now too. It’s definitely a night for the young to get out in Amsterdam and the city is crawling with people moving from party to party.
The most entertaining thing on Queens Day is the free market, famous as Vrijmarkt, a market that allows everyone to sell any of the articles “unnecessary” at home from food and drink to handicraft items, clothes, shoes or anything else. It’s a family affair with children included in the event and very little emphasis on the profit made or cost of items, but more so on the social event and the fun of the trade.
Music is a massive part of the festival too with free concerts, live DJ’s and parties taking place everywhere. Traditional music has a special importance on the day and songs describing the beauty of Amsterdam will echo the streets. There literally isn’t a space free in the city, it’s crammed full of people and pretty much a party on every inch of pavement, park and boat, with many boats having their own amplified music and operating as sailing parties.
Places to go:
* Vondelpark is the site for younger children and family activity. Children set up toy and lemonade stalls and can enjoy games, music, face painting, puppet shows and plenty of activity in the park.
* A rock concert on Museumplein begins usually at 11 a.m. and goes on until late in the afternoon attracting thousands of young participants
* Disco and live and recorded music are at Leidseplein and Stoperaplein (at the Waterlooplein).
* Observe boats on the Prinsengracht, in front of the Anne Frank House.
* Usually a big open-air party for gay and gay friendly people is held on the Westermarkt at the Homo Monument (beginning at 11 a.m. on the Queen’s day until late in the afternoon), and another one at the Reguliersdwarsstraat.
Things to remember:
* Transportation is almost nil around the festival, cars are banned in the city centre and public transport is to a minimal so wear comfy shoes because you’ll be walking or boating your way around the city.
* Don’t carry valuables with you. It might even be wise to leave the camera behind but bring plenty of small change so you can pick up bargains on the stalls.
* Carrying more then one alcoholic drink at a time is illegal but drinks are cheap, around €3, so you can pick them up as you move around.
* Don’t forget to go orange… wigs, t-shirts, accessories, makeup… the more the better!
Booking Hotels:
Finally, as this is of course an extremely popular time to visit Amsterdam, accommodation generally books up quickly and sometimes as far in advance as a year. However if you like what you’ve read and fancy heading for 2010 Queens Day there are some rooms still available and value to be found.
We have great value on all Amsterdam Hotels, with availability for the weekend of 29th-30th April on double rooms from €55 per person per night or for best value consider sharing a quad room from €45 per person per night.
Go… celebrate orange and togetherness… !!
