The warm sunshine led to record turnouts at Liberation Day festivals around the country on Thursday as the Netherlands celebrated 71 years since the end of World War II.

In Rotterdam and Roermond officials urged people to stop turning up because the festival grounds were full, broadcaster NOS reported. In Utrecht too, there were long queues as people waited for other visitors to leave so they could be admitted.

Prachtig weer op Bevrijdingsdag, festivalklanken komen ook door bovenop de @Euromast010 pic.twitter.com/Nl0PiB2OKB

— A. van Eenennaam (@avaneen) May 5, 2016

Dutch railway company NS, which had laid on extra trains to take people to the festival sites, came in for considerable criticism in some parts of the country because the trains were too full. One train bypassed Beverwijk altogether because there were reportedly too many people on the platform, NOS said.

In Amsterdam, Liberation Day was marked with the ‘reconstruction’ of a floating bridge over the IJ, which connected Noord and the city centre in the last months of the war.

Some 7,500 people, including some 60 people who had lived through the war itself, were able to cross the bridge on Thursday. They had used the bridge to cross to the farms in the north looking for food during the ‘hunger winter’.

Refugees

The celebrations kicked off in Groningen on Thursday morning where Thomas Erdbrink gave the traditional May 5 reading.

In his speech Erdbrink, who lives and words in the Middle East, spoke about the refugee crisis. ‘I understand that people are frightened of change,’ he said. ‘But if that fear leads to exclusion and placing people in groups – as first or second class citizens – then I have to ask myself if our country will still be the same place anyway.’

It is important to treat people as individuals not groups, NOS quoted him as saying. ‘That is a difficult thing to do… but only by trying and to keep trying, will we keep what every person values: freedom.’

The celebrations end with the traditional May 5 concert on the Amstel river in Amsterdam, which is broadcast live on television and will be attended by king Willem-Alexander and queen Máxima.

Liberation Day #Nijmegen #celebratingfreedom pic.twitter.com/IOJ078NB3H

— Eelco Keij (@EelcoKeij) May 5, 2016

Topdrukte vanwege het mooie weer op de bevrijdingsfestivals. In Rotterdam past er niemand meer bij: https://t.co/Z9zJls9BS6

— NOS (@NOS) May 5, 2016

Happy #LiberationDay to the Netherlands! Canada is proud to have helped free the country from occupation in 1945! pic.twitter.com/nP0s7LzLI2

— Canada (@Canada) May 5, 2016