Netherlands King And Queen To Visit SF's Castro, UC Berkeley, Google Headquarters, And More

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On Tuesday September 6, and Wednesday September 7, the San Francisco Bay Area will welcome the grand presences of Netherlands King and Queen His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima.

This regal visit is to highlight the formidable economic relationship California holds with the Netherlands, with the Dutch royal couple's first stop being the vibrant and historic Castro neighborhood followed by attendances to the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and more.

See also: 10 Bay Area and National Organizations With LGBTQ+ Resources to Platform For Pride Month

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After being formally greeted into San Francisco at our City Hall by Mayor London Breed, they will be joined by Supervisor Rafael Mandelman in the Castro District, where they will grace the GLBT museum followed by a walk to the Castro Theatre. Their time in this storied neighborhood will be accompanied by conversations with LGBTQ+ activists at the legendary Twin Peaks Tavern to further the international visibility and exchange of perservering queer advocacy and experiences.

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“The Netherlands has long been recognized as one of the most progressive countries in the world in regard to policies impacting the LGBTQ+ community,” Supervisor Mandelman told KRON4 news, further elucidating that “they were the first in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001."

The King and Queen are to arrive at the Castro, which is expected to be particularly crowded, between 9:20 to 10 a.m., in which they will then attend various events and seminars afterwards regarding trade relations, urbanization, sustainability, the circular economy, climate change, healthcare, and more.

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Following the Castro, their seminars and discussions on Tuesday will include meeting with Governor Gavin Newsom and VNO-NCW to formulate innovative solutions to climate change and further cooperation on agri-tech, visiting the University of California San Francisco Medical Center to learn more on public-private Dutch-American health sciences initiatives, and an "Economic Ties and Shared Challenges" themed meeting with CEOs at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

This packed day will conclude with a reception back at City Hall where King Willem-Alexander will prepare a notable speech.

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Wednesday September 7 will see the King visiting UC Berkeley, which comes in perfect timing to the University's thorough Dutch Studies' 50th anniversary, while Queen Máxima heads to the Dutch company HackerOne for talks on ethical hacking and cybersecurity.

The two will then reunite around the Golden Gate Bridge before zipping down to South Bay at both the Google Headquarters, and Stanford University. At the Palo Alto university, the two will meet with the president, the Ecomotive Team of Eindhoven University of Technology, other Dutch students, and Dutch-American Nobel laureate Guido Imbens.

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This whirlwind tour of the Bay will not only provide them with an immense scope of our queer history, Dutch-American programs and industry, and overall culture in sustainability and innovation, but also to reiterate the strong ties our nation and golden state have with the Netherlands.

Our genuine connection has not only helped us partner together within NATO to tackle global issues like climate change, but also to cooperate for increased economic, trade, and employment prosperity. In 2021, our Dutch-US partnership flourished an estimate of over 900,000 American jobs, with 77,000 of those within California, cementing our west coast state both as the world's fifth largest economy as a viable economic partner.

More information can be found here. We can't wait for their visit!

See also: These San Francisco Murals Created by Queer Artists Will Excite You for Pride Month