The beer flows freely during 538 King’s Day on the Chasséveld in Breda. All day long, forty thousand partygoers dressed in orange are dancing and singing exuberantly to live music by PartyfrieX, Flemming, Nielson and Snollebollekes, among others. “It’s finally allowed again, so we are very happy!”
At twelve o’clock the big 538 King’s Day party opened on the Chasséveld and not much later it was packed. Now that it’s finally allowed again after two years, the revelers take it from there. Because how do they celebrate Willem-Alexander’s birthday this sunny Wednesday? Everyone agrees on that: “With a lot of beer, of course!”
“I have lived here for a long time, it was time for a party again. The weather is nice, there is beer. Everything is good,” says one of the revelers. A dancing woman joins in: “It’s fantastic, with everyone on each other again.”
Dozens of well-known artists will perform on Wednesday, but many revelers don’t even seem to care about that. “I come for the fun, for the audience,” says a visitor. That also applies to two other women: “The artists don’t matter to us, as long as it’s fun.” One of the partygoers says he has a clear preference. “I’m coming for Snollebollekes, nice from left to right!”
Tom Wilborts and Bart Coppens, better known as party duo PartyfrieX, will also be part of the line-up on Wednesday. This was the first time they performed at 538 Koningsdag. “This is the largest where we have ever been allowed to stand, really not normal. As far as you can see, I was not able to see the end,” Bart says after their performance.
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The men performed their hit song ‘Ik Moet Zuipen’. “It was really unprecedented, not normal. There was so much energy in the people, wonderful,” says Tom. “The nerves weren’t too bad! Just drink a few beers beforehand,” the PartyFrieX men say with a laugh.
Nielson was also present on Wednesday. “The audience was fantastic,” he says as the net comes walking off the stage. “You just notice that everyone thinks: huh, finally we can go again. If everyone is like this, it can only become very beautiful.”
For the artist this is even the first time that he does not have to go straight to another performance elsewhere in the country. “That has never happened before, so you can imagine what I’m going to do now. I’m going to see what it’s like here in Breda at night.”
You can read everything about King’s Day in us live blog†