King’s Day 2023

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the reign of Dutch King Willem Alexander, the city of Rotterdam hosted King’s Day on 27 April 2023. An unforgettable event.

Rotterdam was the proud host city of the official King’s Day celebrations and the Jubilee of the Dutch King. Commissioned by the municipality of Rotterdam, Rotterdam Festivals coordinated the King’s Day 2023 programme in terms of its content. This meant that all aspects of the programme, including the official King’s Day concert, the activities during the Royal Walking Tour on King’s Day and a 10-day city programme were created and developed by Rotterdam Festivals. The production of the programme along the Royal Walking Tour and the King’s Day Concert were outsourced to an external party – a joint decision with the municipality of Rotterdam. The City Programme connected organisations, entrepreneurs and citizens by taking new initiatives and repeating existing ones.

The theme of the event ‘We are all Kings and Queens’ was selected by the citizens of Rotterdam. Everyone is different – but everyone is special. And everybody is taking part – just the way they are. This was the overall connecting theme of the entire programme, from decorating the city of Rotterdam to the entertaining activities along the Royal Walking Tour of the Dutch royal family.

In the run up to King’s Day on 27 April 2023, the City Programme offered 10 days of enjoyment to make this event as attractive as possible for everyone. Starting with the King’s Day Concert on 19 April and followed by events such as: an exhibition in Maastunnel, a Kings & Queens pop-up schoolyard tour, Rotterdance with us, the official portrait gallery tour and the culinary campaign inviting the city to prepare the Rotterdam royal dish. Please take a look for an overview of all the activities that were part of the City Programme in April 2023.

Enjoy the after movie of King’s Day 2023 in Rotterdam:

Results

The city of Rotterdam turned orange with some green-white-green (Rotterdam’s official flag) on King’s Day 2023. The city presented itself just the way it is: a colourful city, an international port, a city created by people from all corners of the earth. The main goals of these celebrations were to strengthen the feeling of solidarity in this city and to show everyone how proud we are of Rotterdam and of the Netherlands. A wonderful success!

We focused on activities with a sustainable effect. Not just a one-off party, but an event with lasting results for the future of the city. The legacy was measured by a research study. This study by Cigarbox and R2 Research concluded that in addition to more solidarity among the citizens of Rotterdam, the city also has a more positive and attractive reputation (for those who watched King’s Day on television and visitors who travelled to Rotterdam). Finally, the support for the Dutch royal family also grew. King’s Day in Rotterdam was deeply appreciated

by both visitors to the city as well as the citizens of Rotterdam with an average rating of 8.2 out of 10. This event attracted a total of 200,000 visitors.

Throughout the City Programme there was special attention to include everyone and for the circular economy (reducing plastic waste). Please take a look at all the results of King’s Day 2023 in Rotterdam.

Marianne Dijkshoorn, accessibility expert: “King’s Day 2023 in Rotterdam is a wonderful example of an event that really included everyone. Everyone could enjoy the celebrations, whether you were in a wheelchair on one of the purpose-built viewing platforms or in the quiet areas where you could be near the King without begin overwhelmed by the crowds. Live subtitlers made sure that people with hearing difficulties still knew what was being said. Audio scripters described what they saw to people with visual impairment using headsets: ‘A Feyenoord scarf is now being put around the shoulders of Queen Maxima’. This means that people with a disability could enjoy King’s Day just like everyone else. We have truly achieved what we stand for as a city: Festivals are for everyone.”