Theme King's Day Maastricht 2022

Wednesday 27 April 2022: King’s Day. When the sun rises that day, Maastricht will be ready for the biggest and most beautiful event of the year. Everything is covered in orange, The Netherlands’ national colour. Because today is the king’s birthday, and he is coming to visit with his family. This Koningsdag (King’s Day) is sure to be extra special. For two years we couldn't celebrate the king’s birthday the way we wanted to. But today optimism has returned, a sentiment that suits Maastricht perfectly.

Together we turn Koningsdag into a celebration for all. Us Limburgers know exactly how to do so. Hospitality, connection and joy are in our blood. We are inviting our king and queen, the royal family and the whole of the Netherlands to celebrate this beautiful day of unity. To enjoy friendship, reliance and all good things together – since living without would be like living without oxygen.

That’s why our Theme for Koningsdag 2022 is: Leef Maastricht! (in English: Live Maastricht).  

Which, not coincidentally, also means ‘dear Maastricht' in Maastricht dialect. 

Leef Maastricht is all about togetherness and connectedness, about big and small things, about style and diversity – values that are experienced more intensely in the far south of Limburg than anywhere else. This is due to our unique location on the edge of the Netherlands and in the heart of Europe. Once the battleground of international conflicts (referred to by the eleventh verse of the Dutch national anthem het Wilhelmus), now mainly a region of ordinary people, each and every one of them extraordinary. People who are used to a life without grenzen (Dutch for ‘borders’, but also ‘limits’). Not surprisingly, Maastricht is the birthplace of the European Union and the euro, which were both established in the world-famous Maastricht Treaty. Maastricht is also home to the most international university in the Netherlands.