Follow all developments around King’s Day 2022 in Maastricht.
08:46 am – Royal Netherlands Marechaussee also at Hall of Fame
The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee is also present at King’s Day, a special brigade is part of the Hall of Fame in the Bredestraat. “We were of course founded by King Willem I and therefore also connected with the royal family,” says one of the Marechaussees on L1 Radio. “A brigade consists of five people, but we are seven. So actually two too many.”
08:18 am – Bredestraat ready for a visit from the king
In the Bredestraat in Maastricht, the last preparations have been made for the visit of the king. In the street, during the visit of the Royal Family, attention is mainly drawn to associational life. This is how a ‘gallery of club life’ will be built here. A selection of members of dozens of diverse associations waves to them.
07:45 am – Visitors on King’s Day leave for Maastricht
King’s Day visitors are also on the trains that run to Maastricht. “We are always in front of the television on King’s Day,” says a traveler to Maastricht. The NS has a special timetable for King’s Day. As a result, trains depart at different times or more trains run.
07:36 AM – Police check downtown
Police are using sniffer dogs to check the downtown area. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service (EOD) is also present to check the route for explosives.
07:27 am – Maastricht is slowly filling up
More and more visitors arrive in Maastricht for King’s Day. It is expected that between 25,000 and 35,000 visitors will come. “I was in Maastricht at 06:15 so I have a good spot to see the king,” says a visitor.
07:23 – After frost, the king comes to the sunny south
After a night of frost on the ground, the royal family will set foot on Maastricht soil on Wednesday under the sun. The weather forecast for King’s Day looks good according to Meteo Limburg. The weather gods will show the sunny south to the royal couple, their children and other family members this day. Read the full weather forecast here.
07:21 – Police getting them ready for King’s Day
The police are also preparing for this special day. Dozens of motorcycles, cars and police vans are ready at the MECC in Maastricht, where the officers received a briefing on Wednesday morning. During King’s Night, the agents also had to get to work. That went relatively smoothly. In total there are 1200 agents working in Maastricht.
07:16 am – Free market in Maastricht City Park partly vacated
The free market in the City Park in Maastricht has been partly vacated. According to enforcement, this is for safety reasons. A free market is traditionally organized in the park on King’s Day, but on Wednesday morning around 06:00, the sellers around the pond were told to pack. “We started setting up around 3:00 this morning and now we can pack again,” says a salesperson. Read more.
07:06 am – Johan Vlemmix prepares statue Amalia
Orange fan Johan Vlemmix has prepared a statue of Princess Amalia along the route of the king. Wednesday morning he put the last screws in the picture. “It is quite heavy. Especially if you have to carry it immediately when you wake up,” he says on L1 Radio.
Amalia can decide for herself what she will do with the statue. “She can take the statue with her or she decides to place the statue in Maastricht, for example in the hall of the town hall.”
07:00 – First fans in Maastricht
The first fans in Maastricht have arrived. This morning around 06:00 Orange fan Oscar was already in Maastricht, he tells L1 Radio. “I want the best spot. I just heard from the photographers that this is the worst place because it’s dark.” He brought candy for the king. “If the king doesn’t take it, we can still try it with the princess and the queen.”