By: City of Amsterdam PR Office

On 30 April 2013, Amsterdam will host a special royal boat parade on the River IJ to celebrate the inauguration of the new king and queen. The royal couple will set sail from the EYE Film Institute Netherlands and travel past the Oeverpark, via the northern side of the River IJ to the Kop van Java and Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. Well-wishers will be able to greet the royal couple from the quayside. A unique programme of festivities featuring art, culture and sport will take place at various locations along the parade route, providing entertainment for the whole family.

The programme will commence at 10:00 on 30 April with the abdication of Queen Beatrix at the Royal Palace on Dam Square, after which the royal couple will join the departing queen to make an appearance on the palace balcony. The inauguration will take place at 14:00 in De Nieuwe Kerk. This will be followed by a private reception at the Royal Palace, and then the new king and queen will depart for the EYE Film Institute Netherlands. The royal parade is planned to set sail at approximately 19:30.

One for the Main event places on Queen's day 2013 is Museumplein. On 30 April, Amsterdam's Museumplein is set to be transformed into the Oranjeplein (‘Orange Square'). During the day, the free Orange Festival caters to families with performances by famous Dutch artists before the King's Dance takes over in the evening. 3,000 seats are being made available to offer additional comfort to visitors during the evening program. These tickets cost 10 euros with the proceeds of the tickets being donated to Jeugdcultuurfonds Amsterdam (the Amsterdam Youth Culture Fund).

The Amsterdam Student Festival is a festival on the 25th and 26th of April where talented students get a chance to perform in front of a live audience. There will be a music stage, where loads of bands and DJs will perform, and a theatre stage, where the performances will be ranging from theatre and singer-songwriters to comedians. There will also be an art exposition. The students will be evaluated by a jury and can win prices, like bigger performances, studio time and professional workshops, to give their potential cultural career a serious boost!

A new initiative of letting the Amsterdamers feel like tourists in their own city is implemented for the first time in Amsterdam. On the night of 12 January 2013, Amsterdamers could stay a night at one of the participating hotels throughout the city and also take participate at the cultural program of that weekend.

For that purpose, amsterdamers could enjoy local hotels for a major discount that can be booked on amsterdamsehotelnacht.nl

Early in 2013, a year of celebration in Dutch-Russian relations, the Hermitage Amsterdam will present a major exhibition devoted to Peter the Great (1672-1725), the modernizer of Russia. The exhibition will paint a picture of this unconventional, inspired and inquisitive Russian tsar, who by the time he took power at the age of 17 was determined to transform his country. His achievements include reforming the military and the church, expanding trade and industry, and improving education and public health. He turned Russia into a great European power with a brand-new capital city: St Petersburg, his "window on the West." With historical artefacts, paintings, gold jewellery from the ancient world, weapons and unique documents, the exhibition will sketch the life of this peerless ruler. From his youth Peter collected art, including a Rembrandt, planting the seed for St Petersburg's later Hermitage collection. An enthusiastic traveller, he went two visits to Western Europe, including the Dutch Republic. It was the city of Amsterdam, in particular, that inspired him to found his new capital. Peter befriended many leading figures in Dutch society, such as Nicolaas Witsen (mayor of Amsterdam), Christoffel van Brants (shipper, and grain and arms merchant), Albert Seba (apothecary and collector of natural curiosities) and Frederik Ruysch (physician, anatomist and botanist). Like a sponge, he absorbed what they taught him about shipbuilding, making instruments, carpentry, etching, dissection, pulling teeth, making paper, gardening, bookmaking, and much more. Find out how this knowledge bore fruit in Russia during your visit to Peter the Great, an Inspired Tsar. You will also find many of Peter's personal effects, such as his suits and one of his coaches, which show how profoundly he was influenced by Western tastes.

The exhibition will be based on the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, with additional pieces from the collections of museums and institutions in the Netherlands and elsewhere.

Year of Dutch-Russian relations

In 2013, the Netherlands, Russia, and the city of Amsterdam will celebrate their special relationship. The two countries have been major trading partners since the Dutch Golden Age, and their ties grew stronger in the centuries that followed. When Napoleon was defeated in 1813, Russian Cossacks advanced as far as the gates of Amsterdam. One Dutch prince even married the sister of a tsar. The year 2009 saw a crowning moment in Dutch-Russian relations: the opening of the Hermitage Amsterdam, the only European satellite of the famous St Petersburg museum.

Hermitage Amsterdam

An erotic paradise took place just like every year in berlin.

The event is aimed at anyone likes erotic variety and thousands of visitors have visited the place from all over Europe.

The fair included many porn stars, dancers, models and strippers as well as fetish areas, swindlers actions and few unforgettable parties.

This was a real paradise for aspiring photographer as entrance was allowed with personal cameras.

On October 18, 2012,  that time of the year again - the Venus 2012, the world's largest erotic fair opened its doors: promptly at 10am the traditional opening with the cutting of the red ribbon took place.

The Venue: directly in front of the main entrance with the stars of the industry like Mia Magma, as well as this year's Venus testimonial Gina-Lisa Lohfink and also the face of Venus 2011 Micaela Schaefer was presented.

Unlike previous years, the opening took place in FRONT OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE. Gina-Lisa has appeared in a carriage with Kinky Horses. One of the highlights; hundreds of red balloons were released into the sky.