Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands has made her first appearance since the start of the pandemic and went to a children’s playground to officially open the 13th annual “Play Outside” Day. She last appeared in public on 4 March to present the Prince Friso Engineer Award.
Princess Beatrix kicked off “Play Outside” Day from a playground in Baarn, together with Dave Ensberg-Kleijkers, the director of Jantje Beton – a children’s charity – and Maurice Hols, the director of ViacomCBS Northern-Europe. Several children enthusiastically showed her their agility to which she commented that some of her grandchildren are also that agile but that they certainly did not inherit that from her.
The “Play Outside” Day looked a little bit different than usual as it followed the guidelines of the Dutch government and the RIVM due to the coronavirus pandemic. There will be no major events this year, but a special website has been set up to give children tips on how to play outside safely. Last year, over 1,000 local initiatives helped over 100,000 children play outside. The children’s TV network Nickelodeon did not broadcast any shows from 1 pm to 5 pm to encourage children to go out and play.
In addition to Jantje Beton and Nickelodeon, the Johan Cruyff Foundation and the Krajicek Foundation are also supporting “Play Outside” Day. Princess Beatrix has been a patron of Jantje Beton since 1980.
