WILLEMSTAD - His Majesty the King, Her Majesty Queen Máxima and Her Royal Highness the Princess of Orange will arrive in Curaçao on Wednesday, February 1. The royal party arrives by ship. They sail from Aruba to Curaçao on station ship Zr. Ms. Holland and are accompanied by State Secretary Van Huffelen of Kingdom Relations and Digitization. The public part of the visit starts on Thursday 2 February and ends on Friday 3 February. The main focus of this visit is getting to know and meeting with residents. Culture, nature, colonial past, sport and the use of defense are therefore also discussed.
On board the station ship, a discussion will take place about the deployment of Defense in the Caribbean, followed by a tour of the ship and demonstrations. The Ministry of Defense has a number of bases in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom and protects the territory. The Ministry of Defense also fights drug transport, supports rescue operations at sea and provides emergency aid in the event of hurricanes. Upon their arrival in St. Anna Bay, Willemstad, Governor Lucille George-Wout, Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas and President of Parliament Charetti America-Francisca will welcome the group.
On Thursday, February 2, the visit will start with the hanging of a lock on the Punda Love Heart. This is followed by a walk across the Pontjesbrug to Brionplein, where the King will fire the starting shot for the registration of the King's Games. Children of foundation education (primary school) participate in sports competitions on the square. Subsequently, the group visits the Otrobanda neighborhood, where they talk to residents, artists and watch musical performances along the way. Afterward, a lunch will take place with the Curaçao authorities in the Government Palace.
In the afternoon, the royal party will visit the Punda and Scharloo areas. In Punda, the King mints a coin to mark 25 years of Willemstad as a UNESCO World Heritage city. They will also 'paint' a Chichi, a typical Curaçao sculpture that symbolizes the responsible older sister in the family. They then walk through the Scharloo area, with street art, music and sports projects for young people. The tour ends on the Princess Amalia Bridge, where the group listens to the newly composed Waltz Amalia for the princess.
In the evening, a dinner will take place at the Cathedral of Doornen, with twenty-one Curaçaoans who are very active in the community. The number of guests symbolizes the 21st wedding anniversary of the Royal Couple that day.
On Friday 3 February in the morning, the royal party will visit Landhuis Knip near the former plantation where Tula started the slave revolt in 1795. They watch a performance about the uprising and talk to descendants of enslaved people. Subsequently, the group will visit Hofi Mango, a former sugar plantation that is now a nature park, where, among other things, a horticultural training has been set up.
In the afternoon, the King, Queen Máxima and the Princess of Orange will attend a presentation on the beach of Cas Abao by the Sea Turtle Conservation and Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) about marine protected areas and the conservation of the turtle population.
To conclude the visit to Curaçao, the group attends a 'Tumba Music Concert' in the evening with carnival performances on Brionplein. This is organized in honor of the late Boy Dap, who is considered the king of the Tumba.