King’s Day is not only one of the most widely celebrated national holidays in the Netherlands, but one of the biggest free parties on the planet. The day is a jubilant celebration of all things Dutch in the name of King Willem-Alexander, on whose birthday the event take place.
King’s Day was previously Queen’s Day and was celebrated on April 30 as opposed to the current date, April 27, but changed when Willem-Alexander ascended to the throne in 2013.
Despite the fairly recent date and name change, this epic holiday essentially all about having fun in the spring sunshine – hopefully, has been celebrated in much the same way for the last 125 years since Queen’s Day was first officially marked in 1891.
For those yet to experience one of the biggest free parties on earth, we’ve prepared a bucket list to help you do just that.
- Make sure your outfit includes something orange, and preferably obnoxiously ridiculous
Orange is perhaps the most significant ingredient in the celebration of King’s Day. A little ahead of the national holiday, almost every store that sells clothing showcases a rack of its finest in the specific shade of ‘Dutch orange’. The phenomenon even has a name: Oranjegekte, or orange craze.
Looking in any direction on King’s Day you will see a sea of people all bedecked in the national colour, along with almost as many Dutch flags as you would find star spangled banners on a suburban street in Texas.
If you’re not prepared before the big day, don’t worry – you will find plenty of vendors and stores around the city targeted specifically to making you look as garish and therefore blended in as possible.
- Just wander
Some like to celebrate King’s Day with tickets to a festival or event, but if you’re happy to be spontaneous simply walking around, soaking up the atmosphere and stopping for whatever takes your fancy can be very entertaining. The streets and parks of any town or city in the Netherlands will be buzzing with vrijmarkt stalls, where people are allowed to sell pretty much anything they want for the day; food and drink vendors; dance parties on random patches of pavement and music blasting from all directions; and both pedestrian and boat traffic jams along the canals.
- Buy something you don’t need
The vrijmarkt presents a perfect opportunity to find a bargain. Some generous folk offer their wares for free, and prices move only gradually up from there. Finding clothing in almost-unworn condition for as little as €1 is not uncommon, not to mention the books, homewares, shoes and other odd bits and pieces like opera glasses or ‘services’ such as joke telling. People can sell whatever they want, and after a few Heinekens you’ll probably find many items that disguise themselves temporarily as great purchases.
- Pay €2 to use a random person’s bathroom
Many Dutch cities have a serious lack of public bathrooms, which becomes a real problem in places like Amsterdam where tens of thousands of people roam the streets on King’s Day. The tasteful green open-air urinals dotting the city provide an outlet for men, but long lines to use the private bathrooms in peoples’ houses form nonetheless.
These brave, financially-savvy home owners/renters open their doors to the public on King’s Day for a fee determined according to no logic or law, often something unreasonable around €2. For this they at least normally put in some level of effort, sometimes cleaning between each use, which makes the experience more luxurious but also extends waiting time. Waiting for an hour for every member of your straggling group to use the bathroom in a stranger’s apartment is a frequent occurrence, providing a good opportunity for selfies, spontaneous dance parties and getting separated from your friends.
- Join a street party
Every so often you will come across a DJ booth with a small but enthusiastic crowd gathered around it, dancing and generally forming a human barricade that stops you from progressing. These pop-up booths are often organised by bars, who serve alcohol in plastic cups to fuel the revelry.
DJs are not the only ones contributing to the excessive noise pollution on King’s Day – bathroom queues, apartment terraces and boats are all ideal locations from which to blast music, and everyone takes full advantage, so you can probably leave your iPod at home.
- Eat some street food
You will never be short of hunger-satisfying options on King’s Day. Many supermarkets capitalise on the need for a continuous supply of alcohol throughout the city and stay open, as do takeaway food outlets and even some restaurants. There are also countless food stalls to choose from, selling everything from Dutch specialities like poffertjes to international options with a heavy trend toward Indonesian and Surinamese cuisines.
Ready to get embrace oranjegekte? Take a look at our list of tours that stop in the Netherlands, including some great King’s Day options, here
Author’s Bio: Courtney Gahan is a serial expat, traveller and freelance writer who has bartered with Moroccan marketeers, seen the sun rise at Angkor Wat and elbowed her way through crowds on NYE in NYC.
