Queen’s Day – the Dutchest of holidays will colour the month of April in orange – the Dutchest of all colours. Traditionally, the celebration of Queen’s Day in Macedonia is envisaged as a joint project of the Embassy, its partners and the Dutch community in Macedonia. On the waves of the famous orange craze Queen’s Day aims at promoting the Dutch values and the great relationship between the two countries.

The bicycle as a symbol of a modern and healthy lifestyle and society will remain in the focus of the activities around Queen’s Day, but this year it will be adjoined with dance, fashion and design as equally important Dutch export products. The Dutch month started with the fantastic performance of the students from the Rotterdam Dance Academy which opened this year’s Dance Fest Skopje and continues with the workshop on flower arrangements conducted by a Dutch expert and an exhibition of Sacha Lannoye, designer from the Netherlands.

The omnipresence of the orange craze will culminate on 29 April, with a bicycle parade from the Makedonija Square to the City Park where we will open the Dutch children’s park – the first one of this kind in Macedonia. During the evening reception the guests will have the possibility to enjoy the dance and fashion show inspired by the Netherlands and the winning flower arrangements of the contest which will take place earlier on the same day.

These activities represent a system of positive Dutch values that are being promoted both in the Netherlands and abroad – healthy and environment friendly life style, and creative industries, as well as expressions of cultural diversity. These values are synthesised in the concept of creative city, which as a whole is also a powerful vehicle for further economic and social development.

Koninginnedag or Queen's Day is the national holiday in the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba. Queen's Day celebrates the birthday of the Queen of the Netherlands. The tradition started on 31 August 1885 on the birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, later Queen Wilhelmina. Since 1949, after the ascension of Queen Juliana, Queen's Day is celebrated on 30 April: Queen Juliana's birthday. Although Queen Beatrix's birthday is on 31 January, she officially celebrates her birthday on 30 April. Queen's Day in the Netherlands is known for its "free-market" all over the country, where everybody is allowed to sell things in the streets. Other activities during Queen's Day are children's games, individual musical performances, and music concerts.  During the celebrations as reference to the colours of the Royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau, people dress that day in the orange colour.

Download the programme of this year's celebration  here.

Date: 29 April 2009

Location

Skopje, Macedonia

More information

 beti.bakovska@minbuza.nl
 verica.andreevska@minbuza.nl