Prime minister Rob Jetten lit the beacon of liberation in Utrecht to mark the official start of national celebrations to mark the 81st anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

Altogether 14 liberation festivals are being held around the Netherlands to celebrate the day when the German occupation ended in 1945.

The events began at midnight with the traditional lighting of the first beacon in front of the Hotel de Wereld café in Wageningen, where 105-year-old Dutch war veteran Johan Geneuglijk and 103-year-old British veteran Robbie Hall joined the town’s mayor, Floor Vermeulen.

The lighting of the flame was followed by a relay in which approximately 2,500 runners from 107 municipalities carried torches across the country.

Jetten joined writer Splinter Chabot in Utrecht, the province named as the host of this year’s festivities, for the launch in the city’s Transwijk park on Tuesday afternoon.

The prime minister confessed to having “mixed feelings” about celebrating freedom at a time when war is raging and freedom is under threat in parts of the world such as Ukraine, Gaza and Iran.

Personal freedom

“There’s a lot of war and conflict in the world and it’s taking far too long for the international community to resolve it,” he said. “At the same time, it makes you especially proud of being able to live in a free country.

“It’s not just freedom in the sense of not being at war, but the freedom for everyone in this country to be themselves, regardless of colour, creed or who they’re attracted to.”

Jetten also said he wanted to look again at making May 5 a national holiday, in consultation with employers, trade unions and the Socio-Economic Council (SER). Currently most employees only receive an extra paid holiday once every five years.

Earlier in the day Chabot gave the May 5 lecture in Utrecht’s Dom church on the theme of passing on the torch of freedom down the generations.

“We can live in peace now because of what generations did for us in the past,” he said. “And every generation in turn has a duty to protect peace and increase freedom for everyone.”

Liberation soup

Around a million people each year visit one of the festivals across the country, and every year the organisers select a group of Ambassadors of Freedom, from prominent artists. This year’s ambassadors include De Jostiband, Karsu, La Fuente and Rolf Sanchez.

Different parts of the country mark the day in different ways, with some organising sports events while others, such as Terherne in Friesland, inviting locals and visitors to sit together at long tables to eat soup and discuss the war and liberation.

A relatively recent tradition is the Liberation meal, which emerged following the coronavirus lockdowns, with local communities eating a set dish together to celebrate unity. This year’s recipe is a vegan soup of white beans, ginger and coconut milk, devised by Heel Holland Bakt chef Janny van der Heiden.

The festivities will conclude with a concert on the Amstel river in Amsterdam, in the presence of the royal family and other officials.