News of: Wednesday, May 04 2005,
May 4 and 5 are Rembrance Day and Liberation Day in the Netherlands.
On May 4 the victims of the second World War are commemorated throughout the Netherlands.
At 8pm there is a 2 minutes' silence observed everywhere. Cafe's will switch off the music, traffic will stop, and public transport will also stop for 2 minutes.
As usual, there will be service in the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) at Dam Square, in the presence of Queen Beatrix. After that she will lay flowers at the National Monument on Dam Square, followed by many other officials and representatives.
The whole ceremony will be broadcast live on tv.
At 6.15 pm a silent march starts at the Sinti and Roma monument, near the American consulate on Museumplein square (behind the Rijksmuseum). The march will go along several war memorial sites, and end at Dam Square, just before the commemoration ceremony starts, around 7.40pm.
May 5 is Liberation Day. This year it is exactly 60 years ago that the Germans signed the surrender treaty, at Wageningen.
The main celebration is on Museumplein (behind the Rijksmuseum), where the Liberation Festival will take place between 1 pm and 11 pm. The festival has lots of music and other performances.
