Mrs Svetlana Medvedeva, Spouse of Russian President, Officially Opened 61st Edition of Keukenhof International Flower Exhibition

LISSE, The Netherlands, March 19, 2010 - Accompanied by HRH Princess Maxima der Nederlanden Mrs Svetlana
Medvedeva, spouse of the president of the Russian Federation has officially
opened the 61st edition of Keukenhof international flower exhibition in
Lisse, The Netherlands. She was especially invited because this year's
central theme is 'From Russia with love'. The opening ceremony was the
baptizing of a newly bred tulip. Keukenhof 2010 is open for the public until
May 16th.

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Part of the programme was the opening speech, held by Peter d'Hamecourt,
an authority on Russian society and former correspondent of various media,
and a performance by the Nederlands Dans Theater. Walter Jansen, chairman of
the Board of Directors, elucidated recent strategic developments in the park,
in particular the vision on the area surrounding the 32 hectares of the
exhibition. Completion of the procedure is in its final stage.

Mr Jansen called the revitalization of the catering facilities "of major
importance. Our partner Albron and Keukenhof now anticipate on the demands of
the modern, international customer. The introduction of the Discovery Tour
fulfill his needs as well, as research proved."

Theme Russia

Since this decade the Keukenhof outings are based on central theme, a.o.
expressed through an impressive flower mosaic. According to the management
the choice for the 2010 theme 'From Russia with love' was more or less
logical, but challenging on the other hand. Giant Russia is beautiful,
mysterious and boast a special history. The immediate cause, however, was the
growing importance of Russia for the Dutch export of flower bulbs. In return
Keukenhof expects a booming interest of visitors originating from the
country. In 2009 some 9,000 guests from Russia passed the entrance.

The confrontation of the Keukenhof visitor with the 2010 theme will start
at the main entrance through a proud Russian man, playing with his children
on the Red Square in front of the Kremlin. Along Russian landscapes as well
as traditional matroeskas the tour leads to a giant picture of the Pokrov- or
Saint Basil Cathedral. The ambassador of the Russian Federation has finished
this monument in October 2009.

www.keukenhof.nl

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For more information: Keukenhof, Annemarie Gerards, PR Manager, Tel: +31-(0)252-465 505, +31-(0)6-22669760 a.gerards at keukenhof.nl