Queen's Day plans revealed

The Mayor of Amsterdam, Eberhard van der Laan, has made his plans for the Queen's Day and coronation celebrations in the capital known.

Van der Laan announced that a royal boat parade will take place on the Ij following the formalities which will take place at the Royal Palace and Nieuwe Kerk on Dam Square, in the heart of Amsterdam.

The abdication of Queen Beatrix will begin at 10am in the Royal Palace before she emerges with her son and his wife on the balcony of the palace for a short speech. From there the King-to-be will make his journey across to the Nieuwe Kerk for his coronation.

The Mayor expects some 20 to 25.000 people to be present on de Dam, but with around 800.000 people expected in the city centre for the celebrations he wants to ensure that not everyone flocks to the square by organising several locations across the city for parties. There have been a total of 225 applications to organise events and Van der Laan would ideally like all of them to be able to go ahead.

The biggest event will be held on the Museumplein, which will be temporarily renamed Oranjeplein for the day and have large screens where the abdication and coronation can be watched. Afterwards a Kings Ball will be held on the square until late in the night, and several similarly-named events will be organised across the city as Queen's Day turns into King's Night.