On Tuesday, April 15 and Wednesday, April 16, Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman will visit our country. As part of the welcome ceremony in Amsterdam, defense will fire salute shots from the Marine Terrain on Tuesday morning, April 15 at 10:33 AM. This shooting series will last about 2 minutes and will be heard in a large part of the city. So dont be alarmed.
The firing of salute shots is part of the official ceremony with which we welcome heads of state. No ammunition such as bullets is used during the firing, only gunpowder. So it involves so-called blank shots.
Expect Notifications
The police expect that more reports will come into the control room during the firing of the shots. The municipality and involved authorities are trying to inform people as much as possible in advance.
Not Often
We do not fire salute shots often in Amsterdam. The last time this happened was during the state visit of the President of Portugal in December.
21 Shots
The firing of salute shots goes back centuries. It is an old tradition that occurs in various countries. Ancient protocols specify exactly who is allowed to order the firing of salute shots, who gets how many shots, and how many seconds (exactly 5) must be between the shots. For a foreign head of state, we fire 21 shots. Our king is entitled to 35 shots on special occasions and receives 21 shots from visiting heads of state. The most salute shots are fired at the birth of a hereditary prince or princess, namely 105 shots.
State Visit
Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman is making a state visit to the Netherlands on April 15 and 16 at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander. During a state visit, we always hold a welcome ceremony, followed by a wreath-laying.