The Queen’s Birthday is a grand feast for which most Dutchmen are free from work. It is celebrated mostly outdoors with games for the children, rummage sales and in big cities there are many performances by bands and DJs. In Eindhoven alone this event attracts some 200,000 visitors every year. Many people adorn their houses and streets in the colors red, white and blue (the colors of the Dutch flag) and orange (Van Oranje is the family name of the Dutch royal family).

What events are on the program for the inner city of Eindhoven? It begins on Thursday night, with music in the market square, dancing in the Stadhuisplein, a highly varied musical program in the Effenaar and world music in the Danssalon and in Clausplein. On Friday there are huge rummage sales in and around Wilhelminaplein until halfway through the afternoon. The rest of the day there are music festivals throughout the city center. The Effenaar program features Seatsniffers and Go Back To The Zoo among others. Anyone wishing to go back to the 1980s and 1990s can go to Lichtplein and at various locations in the city you can listen to Erick E, Don Diablo, Gregor Salto and Laidback Luke.

On the Queen’s Birthday Queen Beatrix and her family always visit one or two cities or villages in the Netherlands. This year they will be welcomed in Wemeldinge and Middelburg in the province of Zeeland. The visit will be broadcast live on TV from 9.45 to 13.30 hours on Nederland 1. (SK)/.

More information and a convenient map showing the festivities in Eindhoven can be found on www.oranjedegekste.nl (Dutch).