At National Tulip Day DJ Hardwell Gets His Very Own Tulip

January in Amsterdam not only comes with the new year feel but also marks the official start of the cut tulip season in which the Netherlands recognizes its national flower during National Tulip Day. And 2024 is no exception as on this occasion, Dutch tulip growers invite people to celebrate the day alongside them.

This year’s National Tulip Day - held on January 20 – theme is 'Let's Dance', and true to this adage, the tulip is hyped as a flower that literally dances. Quite unlike any other floricultural product, this flower is said to change dramatically in the vase; it grows, blooms, and dances! With tulips, they say, it is a party in the house every day. 

A New Tulip Named After DJ Hardwell

Noteworthy, however, the 2024 National Tulip Day is special in more ways. The occasion sees Robbert van de Corput, popularly known as DJ Hardwell, a Dutch electronic dance music (EDM) disc jockey and music producer born in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands receive his own tulip named after him.

This typical Dutch tradition takes place just before the official opening of the new tulip season at the historic Museumplein in Amsterdam on January 20, 2024. DJ Hardwell, one of the world's most famous DJs and producers gets to have a variety of this widely recognized flower take on his name. The new Tulip Hardwell, with its special flower shape and color scheme, is expected to be presented to the public for the first time on this day. So, unfortunately, no pictures or sneak peeks yet in this article...

The new tulip was personally selected by Hardwell and presented by the Dutch cut tulip growers, Tulip Promotion Netherlands (TPN). TPN’s President, Arjan Smit pointed out that in line with this year's National Tulip Day theme, it would be ideal that they pay tribute to the popular DJ.

Arjan Smit:

“It is a very good reason for us to pay tribute to Hardwell with his own tulip. He is one of the most popular DJs in the world, and his shows are, just like the tulip, full of energy. Tulips even have the unique ability to 'dance' a little in the vase. They continue to grow for a while, and each flower turns in the direction it wants. The new 'Hardwell' tulip, with a unique flower shape and color scheme, will be presented to the public for the first time on National Tulip Day.”

What Is the National Tulip Day?

The Netherlands is the largest tulip producer in the world and has been officially celebrating National Tulip Day since 2012. Every year, the third Saturday in January marks the start of a new cut tulip season and Dutch tulip growers create a vast picking garden with around 200,000 flowers on Museumplein in Amsterdam. 

In observance of the event, everyone is warmly invited to pick tulips for free, regardless of their background or nationality. Visitors from as many as 100 different nationalities are usually expected to attend this event, expressing the connecting charisma of the flower. After all, practically everyone loves tulips.

Before the gates of the garden open, everyone can admire the colorful sea of flowers from a special viewing bridge. And in this year’s event, Hardwell will officially open the garden at 1 p.m., and the public can go in to pick up to 20 tulips for free. Notably, due to high demand, the picking garden is expected to be empty by 5 p.m. 

How You Can Celebrate National Tulip Day

National Tulip Day is an initiative of Dutch tulip growers. Together with family, friends, and volunteers, the organizers create the tulip-picking garden where enthusiasts can indulge in the experience of the flowers.

Starting on the day of the celebrations until the beginning of May, Dutch tulips are widely available in more than 1,000 different varieties. From bright yellow to dark purple, lily-shaped to fringed, and bi-colored to double-flowered, these flowers come in varied kinds with different qualities and characteristics, from which one can pick. 

To celebrate the day, one can take the opportunity to send some tulips to their loved ones just to show them how much you appreciate them. One can also send someone a bouquet of tulips to surprise them. As a lover of flower gardening, you could also plant a tulip in your garden or make use of a flower pot as these lovely flowers will definitely add more brightness and color to your home.

Or you can simply take a picture of a beautiful tulip and post it online and add the hashtag #tulipday to indicate what you’re celebrating.

All said and done, it's now upon you to mark the date and attend these celebrations that recognize this widely known flower.

Feature image by @tuliptime.info.