Today the Netherlands celebrates Koningsdag (King’s Day), the birthday of King Willem-Alexander!
First held on 31 August 1885 to mark Prinsessedag (Princesses’s Day), the birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, this celebration became known as Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day) after her accession to the throne in 1890, and it is only in 2014 that it acquired the current name. Indeed, King Willem-Alexander is the first male monarch in 123 years!
This bank holiday is possibly the biggest birthday party in the world. In this occasion, the Dutch normally take to the streets wearing orange, their national colour. Celebrations start on April 26th, known as Koningsnacht (King’s Night), and are accompanied by concerts, street food and vrijmarkt, flea markets where people sell their used items.
To find out more, check out the official website!
What better occasion to test your interpreting skills in Dutch with the Speech Repository? There are 121 public speeches and 52 more in My Speech Repository waiting for you… and why not trying to wear orange to recreate the perfect atmosphere and forget the lockdown for a few hours.
Fijne Koningsdag and happy practice!
Your Speech Repository Team