Orange makeover for Dutch on Queen's Day

AFP, April, 2008

AMSTERDAM (AFP) — Orange was the order of the day as half-a-million Dutch citizens paid tribute in Amsterdam on Wednesday to their monarch in annual Queen's Day celebrations.

Many of Queen Beatrix's loyal subjects were decked out from head to toe in orange -- the royal colour -- as hundreds of thousands defied an inclement forecast to party in the Dutch capital.

Numbers were boosted by more than 80,000 who came in by train and joined the merrymakers along the banks of the canals, some even taking to the water on boats decorated in orange.

Police estimated there were some 500,000 people enjoying the festival atmosphere in Amsterdam alone.

The banks of the canals were transformed into a vast flea-market, according to a time-honoured tradition that is...