How is a host city chosen?
The Government Information Service (RVD) announces which city the royal family will visit on King’s Day. This usually happens in early July, some nine to ten months in advance. Emmen was announced on 7 July 2023, Lelystad on 6 July 2026. The host city then puts together a programme with its residents and local associations, showing what the city and the region are proud of.
Over the years, every province gets its turn. After Lelystad, Zeeland is the only province where King Willem-Alexander has not yet celebrated King’s Day.
Overview
| Year | Date | Host city | Province |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Saturday, 26 April 2014 | De Rijp & Amstelveen | Noord-Holland |
| 2015 | Monday, 27 April 2015 | Dordrecht | Zuid-Holland |
| 2016 | Wednesday, 27 April 2016 | Zwolle | Overijssel |
| 2017 | Thursday, 27 April 2017 | Tilburg | Noord-Brabant |
| 2018 | Friday, 27 April 2018 | Groningen | Groningen |
| 2019 | Saturday, 27 April 2019 | Amersfoort | Utrecht |
| 2020 | Monday, 27 April 2020 | Maastricht Cancelled due to COVID-19; the King celebrated at home | Limburg |
| 2021 | Tuesday, 27 April 2021 | Eindhoven Small-scale, COVID-safe | Noord-Brabant |
| 2022 | Wednesday, 27 April 2022 | Maastricht | Limburg |
| 2023 | Thursday, 27 April 2023 | Rotterdam | Zuid-Holland |
| 2024 | Saturday, 27 April 2024 | Emmen | Drenthe |
| 2025 | Saturday, 26 April 2025 | Doetinchem | Gelderland |
| 2026 | Monday, 27 April 2026 | Dokkum | Friesland |
| 2027 | Tuesday, 27 April 2027 | Lelystad | Flevoland |
Year by year
2014: De Rijp and Amstelveen
The very first King’s Day was held on Saturday 26 April, because 27 April fell on a Sunday. The royal family visited two places: first De Rijp, then Amstelveen. These were the places originally planned for Queen’s Day 2013, but that visit was postponed because of the change of throne. Almost the whole family came along, including Princess Beatrix. Afterwards the King called the day unforgettable.
2015: Dordrecht
From 2015 the family has visited one city a year. In Dordrecht, the oldest city in Holland, the family arrived by boat at the Groothoofd. There, dozens of ships sailed past in a big parade on the water. Police estimated the crowd at 20,000 to 25,000.
2016: Zwolle
In the Hanseatic city of Zwolle, the family watched a parade on the Grote Markt and took a boat trip along the Thorbeckegracht. It was sunny but bitterly cold. The King called it perhaps the coldest King’s Day ever.
2017: Tilburg
In 2017 the King turned 50 and celebrated in Tilburg. The family arrived on the royal train. The programme had thirteen chapters, after Tilburg’s telephone area code: 013. About 150,000 people came, far more than the expected 70,000.
2018: Groningen
In Groningen the family was welcomed at the Prinsenhof. They then walked through the city centre for two hours, including across the Academieplein by the university. The earthquakes caused by gas extraction in the province also had a place in the programme. According to the city, about 70,000 people came.
2019: Amersfoort
In Amersfoort the route ran from the Mariënhof to the Eemplein. It was cold and rainy, but some 45,000 people still turned up. Afterwards the King called it a fantastic party.
2020: Maastricht, cancelled
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the visit to Maastricht was cancelled. People in the Netherlands celebrated at home, and the day soon became known as Woningsdag, a pun on “woning”, the Dutch word for home. In the morning the King addressed the nation from Huis ten Bosch Palace. The family held video calls with people all over the country, followed by a toast from the palace garden at four in the afternoon.
2021: Eindhoven
The pandemic was still going on in 2021. The visit to Eindhoven took place at the High Tech Campus, without an audience. The King and Princess Amalia arrived in a DAF, the Queen and the other princesses in a solar-powered car. The family talked to residents via screens and took part in an online quiz. The King called the day “never to be forgotten, but also never to be repeated”.
2022: Maastricht
Two years after the cancellation, the family finally came to Maastricht. They laid the last stones of the artwork Poort van Europa (Gate of Europe), a reference to the Maastricht Treaty. The King danced to the music of André Rieu. The party ended on the Vrijthof with a performance by Rowwen Hèze. About 40,000 people came.
2023: Rotterdam
In Rotterdam the day began on the Afrikaanderplein in Rotterdam-Zuid. The family then took a water taxi across the Nieuwe Maas, under the Erasmus Bridge. The King gave a speech at the Markthal. Princess Alexia was absent because she had exams.
2024: Emmen
In Emmen the route ran from the Noorderplein via the Markt and the Rensenpark to the town hall, passing a skate park on the way. The visit ended at Wildlands zoo. The weather kept changing: sun, hail and showers.
2025: Doetinchem
Because 27 April fell on a Sunday, King’s Day was held on Saturday 26 April. The visit to Doetinchem in the Achterhoek region started more than an hour later than planned, because of Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome. In blazing sunshine, the family walked from the Amphion theatre to the bank of the Oude IJssel river. Normaal and Suzan & Freek performed.
2026: Dokkum
In Dokkum, in Friesland, the day began at the Bonifatius Chapel. Prince Constantijn and Prince Maurits, in suits, tried fierljeppen (canal pole vaulting), and there was a game of kaatsen, a traditional Frisian ball game. The King, the Queen and Princess Ariane skated on specially laid ice, at the spot the King passed in 1986 during his Elfstedentocht, the famous eleven-cities skating tour. About 21,000 spectators came.
2027: Lelystad
On Tuesday 27 April 2027 the King celebrates his 60th birthday in Lelystad. It is the first time he spends King’s Day in Flevoland. Lelystad itself also turns 60 that year. What is already known can be found on the Programme page. Read more about the province on the Flevoland page.
Before that: Queen’s Day
Queen Beatrix also visited one or two municipalities every year. Flevoland had its turn twice: in 1994 the Noordoostpolder and Urk, in 2006 Almere and Zeewolde. How the celebration developed, from Princess’s Day to King’s Day, is told on the History page.
Sources
- NOS: King to De Rijp and Amstelveen (2014, Dutch)
- NOS: Dordrecht lets the King sway on water and music (2015, Dutch)
- NL Times: Sun shines in Zwolle (2016)
- Binnenlands Bestuur: King’s Day in Tilburg in 13 chapters (2017, Dutch)
- City of Groningen: Evaluation of King’s Day 2018 (pdf, Dutch)
- NOS: King’s Day blog Amersfoort (2019, Dutch)
- NOS: A unique and intimate King’s Day (2020, Dutch)
- NOS: This was King’s Day 2021 (Dutch)
- NL Times: King thanks Maastricht (2022)
- NOS: A cold start to King’s Day (2023, Dutch)
- Hart van Nederland: King’s Day in Emmen (2024, Dutch)
- DutchNews: King’s Day in blazing sunshine (2025)
- NOS: King’s Day in Dokkum (2026, Dutch)
- NOS: King celebrates his 60th birthday in Lelystad (Dutch)