Wow, these are really wonderful pics! What a great party! :)
Out of respect to the pregnancies, I won't comment on the choice of outfits for some of the ladies, let's just say I don't particularly "love" them....
The Programme Silver Jubilee
On 29 and 30 April the Silver Jubilee of Queen Beatrix is to begin in the national and court capitals, Amsterdam and The Hague. The jubilee programme, that lasts until December 2005, will be both festive and serious and, where possible, made by Dutch people using Dutch people.
A large number of Dutch have been invited to come to Amsterdam and The Hague. The programme can also be followed on television. The festivities are to be broadcasted live by the NOS.
Friday 29th of april
The programme begins with the unveiling of the National Remembrance in De Nieuwe Kerk on the Dam Square, where the Queen was installed 25 years ago. A little after 20.00 hours, the Queen and members of the royal family will leave the Royal Palace Amsterdam for De Nieuwe Kerk. They will be received there by the Mayor of Amsterdam, the Queen’s Commissioner for Noord-Holland, the director and chairperson of De Nieuwe Kerk Foundation and the chairman of the National Committee for the Queen Beatrix Silver Jubilee, Yvonne E.M.A. Timmerman-Buck. The Queen will then be addressed briefly by the chairman of the National Committee and she will be presented with the booklet about the window, written by Lien Heyting. The commemorative glas-strained window, by sculptor Marc Mulders, will be unveiled by the Queen to the accompaniment of organ music played by Bernard Winsemius.
Will take their places in De Nieuwe Kerk the chairpersons of the First and Second Chamber and of the States of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, as well as the minister presidents of the Kingdom, the mayor and members of the city council of Amsterdam and the members National Committee, and the managements of companies and banks who contributed to this celebration in Amsterdam.
Concert on the Dam
After the unveiling of the window, the concert on the Dam Square will begin at 21.30 hours. The city council of Amsterdam, as capital of the country, will offer this concert to the Queen. The well-known soprano Angela Gheorghiu and violinist Janine Jansen will then appear for a performance. Hans van Manen (The National Ballet) has created a special choreographic work for the occasion. The soprano will sing, among others, L’Amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera) "from Carmen by Bizet", "I could have danced all night" from My fair lady and "Oh mio babbino caro" by Puccini.
The concert will take place on a special stage on the Dam square. Along with the guests of Queen Beatrix, a cross-section of the Amsterdam population has been invited. The concert lasts until 23.00 hours and will be broadcast live by the NOS.
Also celebrated in 2005 will be the 350th year of existence of the Paleis op de Dam, which was built as Amsterdam city hall in 1655.
Saturday 30 April
The programme in The Hague consists of a several of main parts.
The States General is to meet on Saturday this coming 30 April in an Extraordinary United Assembly on the occasion of the celebration of the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen. The Extraordinary United Assembly, assisted by the Queen and members of the royal family, has a festive character and begins at 10.30 hours in the Ridderzaal.
Along with speeches by the Chairperson of the United Assembly, Mrs Yvonne E.M.A. Timmerman-Buck, the Chariperson of the Second Chaimber, Mr Frans W. Weisglas and minister president Jan Peter Balkenende there will be musical intermezzos. The members of the Firs and Second Chambers are accompanied by a 25-year old guest, while, during the event, 125 Dutch from all over the country selected for ther voluntary services in the communities to which they belong, will be at hand. After the conclusion of the Extraordinary United Assembly there is a luncheon from approx. 12.30 hours for the Members of Parliament, their partners and the guests in the Statenpassage of the building of the Second Chamber.
Jubilee postage stamp
Directly following the Extraordinary United Gathering in the Ridderzaal the presentation in the Koninginnekamer of the jubilee postage stamp by TPG Post to the Queen will take place. The morning concludes with an aubade for the Queen. The aubade will be performed by children from 7 schools in The Hague, the Royal Man’s Choir ' Die Haghe Sanghers', Philharmonic Choir Hagacantare and the Mixed Choir HagaSonare. Jan Verschuren will provide the piano accompaniment and the conductor is René Verhoeff. They will sing to Queen Beatrix and her family from the Binnenhof. The repertoire will consist of a number of traditonal old-time Dutch songs.
Scheveningen
Then the Queen and her family will travel to Scheveningen. She will be received at 14.00 hours by Mayor Deetman and Queen’s Commissioner Franssen at the statue of the Vissersvrouw on the Boulevard. The Royal Walk through Scheveningen begins here. The Woman’s Choir of Scheveningen strikes up a song, a lighthouse man walks on stilts and in the Keizerstraat the Queen witnesses an attempt to break the world record for the game koekhappen. Waiting for the Queen in the Kerketuin is a song club which performs a dance to the song: "Wat je moet doen, als je de Koningin tegenkomt" (Waht you should do when you meet the Queen).
A children’s press agency makes recordings for a live television broadcast. In the Wassenaarsestraat the poem 'Wimpelhoog' from the Hofstadbundel is recited. Large, skilfully crafted sea-gulls are suspended above the street. 25 children walk with self-made sea-gulls and fish mounted on sticks. Hereafter begins the ‘Scheveningse les’; a teacher with a larger pointer stands before a wall full of words from the Schevening language dictionary.
Then the Queen lands in a vlaggetjesfeest (festifity of flags), followed by a tour through authentic fishermen’s dwellings in the Zeilstraat and the Ankerstraat. Here the tour takes on a Chinese tint: dancers perform the dragon dance. On the Badhuiskade the Surinamese band 'W.W.W.W' (We come When We Want to) celebrates and then the Queen takes the route towards the playground. Here soccer players from ADO Den Haag play a ‘Pane’ game with a number of young soccer players, there is skating and games of catch, and many more activities. The tour proceeds on foot to the town farm, where the Hague Youth Orchestra begins to play. A lemonade lady passes out the drink ‘ranja’. Finally the Scheveningen musician Kees Kingsize and the 'Suburbs' band lead the Queen away towards an open tram, on which the delegation departs towards the Javastraat. Two confetti cannons accompany the procession, firing away.
Memorable moments
In the evening there will be a festive programme at a pavilion on the Malieveld in The Hague. 4,000 invited guests from the whole country will be looking back at memorable moments from the last 25 years in Dutch society. The programme is called 'Dit is een land om lief te hebben....'[This is a country to love]. The entertainer Toon Hermans, in one of his catchy songs, explained why the Netherlands is a country to love. The song ‘This is a place to love…’served as inspiration for the event. With Ivo Niehe as anchorman, we look back this evening on moments from the past 25 years that we Dutch are proud of. In this two-hour programme, to be broadcast live by the TROS on Nederland 2, a host of well-known Dutch athletes and artistes will pay their respects, including Karin Bloemen, Frans Bauer, Marco Borsato, Simone Kleinsma and Di-rect.
During the evening also attention will be paid to the four Special Proects selected in consultation with the Queen, UNICEF, Jeugdfonds Jantje Beton, the Oranje Fonds and the Prinses Beatrix Fonds. The programme, running from 20.15 to 22.15 hours, is being produced by Stage Holding Theaterproducties and Eyeworks.
Great photos misshelen! Thanks for sharing. It seems that the royal family really had a great time. I was looking though that last set of photos and I didn't see either Marilene or Annette. Were they not present, or did they just get left out of the shots?
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