Liberation Flame kicks off Liberation Day celebrations in the Netherlands

Liberation Day celebrations began in Wageningen shortly after midnight with the lighting of the Liberation Flame, marking the symbolic start of nationwide events commemorating the anniversary of the end of the Nazi occupation during World War II. The flame was lit at Hotel de Wereld, the historic site where the German surrender was signed on 5 May 1945.

Known as the Bevrijdingsvuur, the flame was ignited by Wageningen’s mayor alongside 105-year-old Dutch veteran Johan Geneuglijk and 103-year-old British veteran Robbie Hall. “The liberation has asked for a whole lot of sacrifices and that we may never forget,” Geneuglijk said.

From this moment, the flame was carried forward by approximately 2,500 relay runners. Their job on Tuesday is to bring the flame by relay from Wageningen to municipalities across the country as a symbolic chain of freedom.

The late night and early morning program in Wageningen centered on the experiences of Jewish woman Klaartje de Zwarte-Walvisch, who was imprisoned at the Kamp Vught concentration camp in 1943. She was then deported and murdered in the Sobibor extermination camp. Actress Hanna van Vliet portrayed her using the diary De Zwarte-Walvisch wrote while she was being held in the camp.

The official start of the 14 Liberation festivals nationwide was scheduled to take place in Utrecht, where writer and television producer Splinter Chabot was set to deliver the May 5 lecture in the Domkerk. Chabot was then slated to light the fire together with Prime Minister Jetten at the Bevrijdingsfestival Utrecht. The Utrecht events were scheduled to be broadcast live by NOS from 1:20 p.m.

The nationwide program on Tuesday features coordinated Liberation Day celebrations across cities and towns throughout the Netherlands. Freedom ambassadors, including La Fuente, the Jostiband, Karsu, and Rolf Sanchez, travel across the country by helicopter from Gilze-Rijen airbase, appearing at various events to mark and celebrate freedom in different locations.

The day’s celebrations are to conclude with the traditional 5 May concert on the Amstel River in Amsterdam, featuring performances by artists including Roxeanne Hazes, Laetitia Gerards, Edsilia Rombley, and Acda en de Munnik, marking the close of the national Liberation Day program.