Koningsdag, celebrating the birthday of the Dutch king Willem-Alexander, is the national holiday of the Netherlands. It involves so-called ‘free markets’: in parks, on squares and some streets, people can lay down a blanket and freely sell their old junk. Also lots of games, little girls being paid to play the violin terribly and other (attempts at) music. It’s also tradition that the king visits one city and tries to act like a normal person while being the center of attention of what’s possibly the most awkward birthday party on the planet.
This little flag was part of the visual identity of Koningsdag in Rotterdam when Willem-Alexander visited in 2023, and it’s quite cleverly designed. It shows the green-white-green flag of Rotterdam, with superimposed orange party/birthday flags. The party-flags also turn the background into green-white-green triangles, which seem to be interlocking. This could well symbolise a connection between Rotterdam and the house of Orange. In the middle, the orange triangles are turned upside down to form a crown, also very clever. 010 is the landline phone prefix for Rotterdam, and has become sort of a nickname for the city. Maybe here the nulls are also meant to be eyes, with the one as a nose.
I couldn’t find where they handed out these flags, but I had to have one so I was glad to pick this one off the ground :p
I’m not an orangist myself, mind you. I like this flag a lot, though.
