(I spent a shitload of time making a beautiful presentation picture for this part only to be told that the file size is too big. Fuck you Wattpad.)

Well hi there! :D It's been a while, hasn't it? In fact, I've been wanting to do this part for a while now but oh well, summer happened. So to officially launch the beginning of the 2020 season, I'm BACK! :D

 As I may or may not have already told you, the Netherlands is probably my favorite country on earth, and I always love talking all things Dutch, so it's pretty natural that I got the idea for this segment, which will more or less be a presentation of the country, both random-facts/trivia-wise, and Eurovision-wise. A bit like Wikipedia, but more specific to what concerns us. I'll also do a Rotterdam/Maastricht Profile when the host city will be revealed. Also please note that every picture used (except for obvious stuff like the flag or coat of arms/shield/crest that have clearly been taken from the Internet) has been shot by my mother when we went to the Netherlands in October 2015 (and yes, I still remember the exact date — just to show you how obsessed I am). The media picture is Leiden, by the way, if I'm not mistaken.

Now, without any further ado:

COUNTRY PROFILE: THE NETHERLANDS

//BASIC INFORMATION

> Map 1 (thank you Google)

> Map 2 (thanks again)

> Official name of the country: Nederland ['ne:dərlɑnt], Kingdom of the Netherlands

> Capitals: Amsterdam, The Hague (Den Haag), seat of government

> Other major cities: Rotterdam, Maastricht, Utrecht, Eindhoven

> Official languages: Dutch (Regional: English, Papiamento - a language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean, West Frisian + Recognized: Dutch Low Saxon, Limburgish)

> Government:

Unitary → a state governed by a single power in which the central government is supreme

Parliamentary → democratic governance where the executive power is held by a parliament

Constitutional monarchy → the sovereign's power is determined by a constitution, same system as in the UK (aka the Royal family is basically a decoration)

Monarch: Willem-Alexander (since 2013)

Prime Minister: Mark Rutte (since 2010), People's Party for Freedom and Democracy

> Population: 17,336,891 inhabitants as of 2019

> Currency: Euro €, US Dollar $ (in the Caribbean)

> Flag: The flag of the Netherlands (de Nederlandse vlag) is a horizontal of red, white, and blue. The current design originates as a variant of the late 16th century orange-white-blue Prinsenvlag ("Prince's Flag"), evolving in the early 17th century as the red-white-blue Statenvlag ("States Flag"), the naval flag of the States-General of the Dutch Republic, making the Dutch flag perhaps the oldest tricolor flag  in continuous use. It has inspired the Russian and French flags. During the economic crisis of 1930s the old Prince's Flag with the color orange gained some popularity among some people. To end the confusion, the colors red, white and blue and its official status as the national flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands  were reaffirmed by a royal decree on 19 February 1937. (Wikipedia)

> Coat of arms:

//BRIEF HISTORY

(taken from: https://www.ducksters.com/geography/country/netherlands_history_timeline.php)

"The people who live in the Netherlands are called the Dutch. The land was originally inhabited by Germanic tribes. A portion of the land became a Roman province that was conquered by Julius Caesar in the first century BC. Later, the land became part of the empire of the Franks, then the House of Burgundy, and eventually became part of the Habsburg Empire.

In the 16th Century the land came under Spanish Rule and the Dutch revolted. Their leader was Willem of Orange and in 1581 the Republic of the United Netherlands was formed.

During the 17th century the Netherlands became an international power known for its strong navy. The Dutch empire expanded throughout the world through various colonies on nearly every continent. Also during this time, the arts in Netherlands was at its peak with notable artists such as Rembrandt and Vermeer.

In later years, Dutch power declined. Wars with Spain, France, and England weakened the country.

In the 1900s, the Netherlands tried to stay neutral during both World Wars. They managed to avoid getting involved in the First World War, but in World War II they were occupied by Germany. The Dutch Jews were almost wiped out by the Germans. Over 75 percent of the 140,000 Jewish people that lived in the Netherlands were killed by the Germans as part of the Holocaust. Famous Jewish girl Anne Frank wrote of hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam before getting captured and taken to a concentration camp to die.

After World War II, most of the Netherland's remaining colonies were granted independence."

//FACTS

• Holland is not an alternative name of the country, it's in fact a province. Thus, someone from, say, Zeeland, is not from Holland. It's a bit like saying that a guy from Edinburgh is English.

• The Wilhelmus is the oldest national anthem in the world, dating from the 16th century.

• King Willem-Alexander is the first mal King since 1890. Before him were three generations of females.

• The Netherlands was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001, against 2014 for the UK, or 2013 in France.

• The Netherlands has the highest English proficiency in the world (as a second language of course). It's a fact I can confirm, and it did come in handy when we were lost somewhere in some Dutch city (seriously, how could we lose ourselves in such a small country? smh).

• There are over 1,000 windmills in the Netherlands dating from 1850. That's quite a lot, I don't know how they all fit in there...

• They have an entire province made out of land that used to be under the sea. It's called Flevoland and it's pretty recent since it became a province in 1986 only. It feels a bit weird to be there and think that you're below sea level tbh

• Actually, 26% of the country in under sea level, and a whopping 60% of the population live five meters below sea level! The highest point is at 322 meters above sea level (Vaalserberg), and the lowest is at seven meters below sea level (Zuidplaspolder). 

• 80% of the world's flower bulbs come from the Netherlands, but tulips are not native to the country; they come in fact from Turkey.

• There are 18M bikes in the country against 17M people. They also have 35,000km of bike lanes. No wonder they're so good at cycling... 

• Since orange is such an important color for the Netherlands, it's not surprising that they were the ones to introduce the world to orange carrots in the 16th century.

• CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray were invented by the Dutch brand Philips. The Voice is also Dutch, the original version being the Voice of Holland, created by John de Mol. Thus, the likes of O'G3NE, Waylon, Anouk, Trijntje Oosterhuis or Ilse DeLange won/coached on the OG version of the Voice.

• That's not an official fact but electronic music is gosh darn popular there. If you don't know where a DJ/producer comes from, the Netherlands is a safe bet. It's such a small country that it's easy for big names to discover young and small talents. Besides, a lot of labels are Dutch too, so even easier. 

//FOOD

AAAH MY FAVORITE SECTION! :D

> Herring

I absolutely HATE fish so let's get that out of the way. Traditionally served with raw onions and gherkins. To eat the herring properly, you must lift it by the tail and take a bite upwards (and then hope for the best, because ugh... fish.)

> Stroopwafel

Now THAT'S actually good! Usually, the filling is syrup but nowadays it can be anything, from caramel to honey.

> Kroket

It looks good. It's a fried roll filled with meat ragout covered in breadcrumbs. 

> CHEESE (or kaas)

Probably my favorite thing to come out of this country. Dutch cheese >>>>>>>>>>>>> French cheese

More foods here: amsterdamtourist.info/eating-drinking/famous-dutch-food/ (I'm running out of image spots ;-;)

//AT EUROVISION

I could not leave that out right?

The Netherlands made their debut in 1956 and have since then participated 60 times. They have won the contest five times:

• 1957 | Corry Brokken — Net als toen

https://youtu.be/e5gLyP977ew

• 1959 | Teddy Scholten — Een beetje

https://youtu.be/nGAupVJSO0k

• 1969 | Lenny Kuhr — De troubadour

https://youtu.be/FasfUSRdoYc

• 1975 | Teach-In — Ding-a-Dong

https://youtu.be/sI78Bqp6z6g

and finally

• 2019 | Duncan Laurence — Arcade

https://youtu.be/R3D-r4ogr7s

The contest has been held in Hilversum, Amsterdam, twice in the Hague and in Rotterdam/Maastricht.

Some of my personal favorite Dutch entries include (but are not limited to):

- Teach-In — Ding-a-Dong

- Xandra — Colorado (it's stronger than me, I can't dislike this :c)

- Maggie McNeal — Amsterdam

- Edsilia Rombley — Hemel en Aarde

- Douwe Bob — Slow Down

- Duncan Laurence — Arcade

So yeah, that's it! Do you think it will be Rotterdam or Maastricht?

Also, do you like the new cover? I liked the old one but I wanted some change, so I made this one instead. It's a lot simpler, there's less stuff going on, so yeah. Hope you like it ^^

I made everything on Paint 3D btw

See ya later for Rotterdam's/Maastricht's city profile :D Bye!