Sharing a January 23, 2026 excerpt and photos from RTV Maastricht, photo from De Limburger, and a video from Maastricht University. King Willem-Alexander guest of honor at start of Maastricht University's 50th anniversary celebrations Photos: Laurens Bouvrie and Rob Oostwegel, screenshots by us. Friday, January 23, 2026 Translation by Diana D. Le On Friday afternoon [January 23, 2026], King Willem-Alexander signed the golden guest book of St. Servatius Basilica in the Bergportaal. Just over fifty years ago, on January 9, his grandmother, Queen Juliana, signed the guest book in roughly the same spot on the occasion of the official opening of Royal University Limburg (RUL). With a special “Dies Natalis” (Latin for “Birthday”), including a performance by André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra, Maastricht University's anniversary year began with a royal touch, just as it did half a century ago.

January 23, 2026 From Facebook Maastricht University: Today marks Maastricht University’s 50th Dies Natalis! A jubilee edition of our Dies Natalis to celebrate 50 years of education, research and collaboration at UM (University Maastricht) — reflecting on what we have built together and looking ahead to the future of our academic community. The ceremony features inspiring honorary lectures, the awarding of three honorary doctorates, and recognitions including the Education Prize, Dissertation Prize and Master’s Student Prizes. His Majesty the King will be in attendance. During the morning program, Rector Magnificus Pamela Habibović also presents the Bachelor’s Student Prizes in a live ceremony. Let's together celebrate the impact of education, research and community! Below an excerpt of the live program, mainly the participation of André |Rieu. The whole program can be seen on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1HeSOS0NR4

January 23, 2026, De Limburger, By Jos van den Camp JUBILEE CELEBRATION Fifty years after his grandmother opened the university, King Willem-Alexander celebrated the anniversary in Maastricht at a packed St. Servaas Basilica The pews of St. Servaas Basilica were packed during King Willem-Alexander's visit to the university's fiftieth anniversary celebration. Next to him was President of the Executive Board Rianne Letschert, who had returned from The Hague for the occasion, where she is currently working on the formation of a new government. Everything came together again on Friday at the place where his grandmother opened the RUL (Royal University Limburg) fifty years ago. King Willem-Alexander attended the anniversary celebration of what is now Maastricht University (UM) in the St. Servaas Basilica. And guess what? What's saved, is what's saved. Here, beneath the high vaults, heavy pillars, and rounded arches of the majestic St. Servatius Basilica in Maastricht, his grandmother preceded him fifty years ago: "It is with joy that I can congratulate Limburg and Maastricht today on the establishment of the State University here," then - Queen Juliana said solemnly on January 9, 1976. She then took a seat at a Louis XVI-style table and signed the founding act. Friday afternoon, on the fiftieth anniversary of what has been known as Maastricht University since 1996, King Willem-Alexander entered the same church. At the university, the table and chair in question had been found somewhere in the depot, dusted off, and given a bit of a makeover. But he also listened, above all, to Pamela Habibovic. Maastricht University's success wasn't always self- evident, the rector magnificus said. By 2026, it had grown from a modest medical faculty to a knowledge institution with 23,000 students, five thousand staff members, six faculties, and 100,000 graduates from more than a hundred countries. Not only was there considerable resistance to its founding, but after just a few years, calls were raised to close the university, she recalled. "There was and still is resistance to expansion, and we feel the constant political pressure to abandon the international character that has shaped us into who we are." It wasn't her only concern and criticism she expressed on Friday. Everyone present at Sint Servaas Cathedral that day would agree, she said. But it still had to be said: "More than ever in the past fifty years, academic values—from freedom to responsibility and integrity—are under attack." André Rieu, his Johann Strauss Orchestra, and the Mastreechter Staar (male choir) performed at the university's anniversary celebration.

Chapeau Magazine January 24, 2026 Blog Jo Cortenraedt Translation: Diana/Ineke Maastricht officials never quite get used to the Rieu family The celebration of Maastricht University's 50th anniversary in the St. Servaas Basilica was grand and captivating. André Rieu was invited to provide musical accompaniment to the gathering, and then you know the entire church is transformed into a beautifully lit concert hall, where every musical register is pulled out. The basilica's considerable choir was almost too small to accommodate the entire Johann Strauss Orchestra and the Maastricht Staar (male choir). The musicians and singers had never been this close together before, but it worked out very well for the overall picture. André Rieu was very keen to enhance this special celebration, because it is also his church, where he sang many Sundays as a young choir singer. He once told me that it was there that the inspiration to create music in a theatrical form for a large audience began. And lo and behold, decades later, there he was again, with his dream, which he had been living for so long. He was visibly beaming, as were UM President Rianne Letschert, Rector Magnificus Pamela Habibovic, Mayor Wim Hillenaar, Governor Emile Roemer, and, not to forget, King Willem-Alexander. It's truly unique that a Dies Natalis celebration is so grandiose. You won't often experience that at any other university in the country. And it's good that the city is once again gratefully tapping into the love Rieu feels for his birthplace. And yes, that also includes fulfilling a number of his mostly practical wishes, including at his Vrijthof concerts. That requires some flexibility from a city council, and I remember the bureaucrats not being thrilled when Mayor Gerd Leers announced back in 2004/5 that he wanted to facilitate Rieu's "open-air concerts" on the Vrijthof square. The familiar "yes, but" echoed from many small rooms in the city hall, their first concern being whether this would align with the endless array of regulations in place, often devised by local and national politicians. A lot of water flowed through the Meuse before Leers managed to persuade every civil servant involved to abandon their stubborn position. A festive concert for the king, but no royal hotel tie To read about this item, click HERE. While André Rieu may have put Maastricht on the map worldwide, giving it a marketing value equivalent to several times the entire budget of Maastricht Marketing, that doesn't mean, of course, that he, as the uncrowned king of the city, can do everything. He understands that himself, knowing that there are still plenty of government officials, armed with a thick layer of regulations, looking for opportunities to occasionally hand him a yellow or even red card. Like, "He shouldn't get his hopes up." And lo and behold, they sense an opportunity now that son Pierre Rieu has dared to adorn his newly acquired Hotel Derlon with spectacular Christmas decorations in the form of a red bow and thousands of lights. A wow factor for many, but not for a number of civil servants and their friends. While the chicest fashion houses in Paris, for example, also display such lavish decorations on their facades during the festive season, some Sjengen (residents of Maastricht) found it a bit excessive. They felt: "Mestreech must remain Maastricht." International yet small-town, a tricky combination. Pierre Rieu was called to account at city hall, where nine officials, including the illustrious aesthetic committee, awaited him and gave him a piece of their minds. Because this was simply unacceptable. Tastes differ, but it remains difficult for some civil servants and advisors to think big. And apparently, they consider their own taste the standard. Apparently, Pierre Rieu was surprised that no fewer than NINE people had the time to wait for them. But this is just one example of a problem that has been plaguing many levels of government for years. The enormous apparatus of civil servants and advisors, with an endless pile of often barely comprehensible rules and regulations, renders many initiatives hopeless from the outset. Enormous staff costs are incurred simply to NOT deliver. This costs a country—and therefore its taxpayers—a tremendous amount of money that isn't spent on strengthening the economy and solving real problems.

Editor-in-Chief, Publisher, and All-Around Journalist Jo Cortenraedt is an all-around journalist with decades of experience in the Netherlands and abroad. He has worked for ANP, NOS News, and De Telegraaf, among others. He joined Chapeau Magazine in 1997 as editor-in- chief and publisher, and that same year was involved in the launch of regional television in Limburg.

Duration: 30 minutes