After two modified editions, Liberation Day has again ended this year with the traditional concert on the Amstel in front of the Royal Theater Carré in Amsterdam. On stage were the symphony orchestra South Netherlands Philharmonic, Anita Meyer, Fresku, Wasim Arslan and Ella van Poucke.

Presenter Eric Corton, as narrator, provided the common thread in the concert this year, which was broadcast live by the NOS on NPO 1. The theme of the musical performance was ‘I look at you’. “If people take the time to actually look at each other, they start talking to each other. That happens too little these days, everything is fleeting. People look away, so groups don’t feel seen and heard,” Corton said.

Traditionally, Willem-Alexander and Máxima also attended the concert on the Amstel. At the end they set out with a group by boat as they were waved goodbye by the audience along the quays during the song We’ll Meet Again.

That song is known by the British singer Vera Lynn (1917-2020). The song, which she recorded after the outbreak of World War II, resonated with everyone who was separated from his or her loved one during the war.

Over the past two years, the May 5 concert has been adjusted due to the corona measures in force. The event was not on the Amstel, but without an audience and without the royal couple in the Royal Theater Carré in Amsterdam.