Thousands of tulips are in bloom this week to welcome visitors to the opening of the once-in-a-decade Dutch horticultural exhibition called Floriade, which seeks to showcase horticultural innovations that can make urban areas more sustainable and healthier as people around the world increasingly shift to cities.
APTOPIX_Netherlands_Floriade_81847 Two giant statues made out of metal bees greet visitors to the once-a-decade Dutch horticultural exhibition called Floriade, in Almere, Netherlands, Monday, April 11, 2022, that aims to showcase ways of making urban areas more sustainable as global populations increasingly shift to cities. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_Floriade_42158 A pigeon's tower of Qatar's Desert Nest is seen at the once-a-decade Dutch horticultural exhibition called Floriade in Almere, Netherlands, Monday, April 11, 2022, that aims to showcase ways of making urban areas more sustainable as global populations increasingly shift to cities. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_Floriade_77519 Germany's pavilion at the once-a-decade Dutch horticultural exhibition called Floriade that aims to showcase ways of making urban areas more sustainable as global populations increasingly shift to cities, in Almere, Netherlands, Monday, April 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_Floriade_04947 A new university building on the 60-hectare site on the edge of this modern city close to Amsterdam has plants growing from its walls at the once-a-decade Dutch horticultural exhibition called Floriade that aims to showcase ways of making urban areas more sustainable as global populations increasingly shift to cities, in Almere, Netherlands, Monday, April 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_Floriade_54921 Satoyama Farm Garden, Japan's pavilion, is seen at the once-a-decade Dutch horticultural exhibition called Floriade in Almere, Netherlands, Monday, April 11, 2022, that aims to showcase ways of making urban areas more sustainable as global populations increasingly shift to cities. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_Floriade_72811 Two hearts read "Nature Loves Technology" at the once-a-decade Dutch horticultural exhibition called Floriade in Almere, Netherlands, Monday, April 11, 2022, that aims to showcase ways of making urban areas more sustainable as global populations increasingly shift to cities. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_Floriade_88383 Workers put the finishing touches to the expo grounds days before the opening at the Dutch horticultural exhibition called Floriade that aims to showcase ways of making urban areas more sustainable as global populations increasingly shift to cities, in Almere, Netherlands, Monday, April 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_06168 A woman takes pictures of tulips when visiting the world-renowned Dutch flower garden Keukenhof, in Lisse, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_87205 Hans van den Hende, bishop of Rotterdam, blesses a transport of flowers which will decorate Saint Peter's square for Easter celebrations in Vatican City, at the world-renowned Dutch flower garden Keukenhof, in Lisse, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_40193 Visitors pass tulips at the world-renowned Dutch flower garden Keukenhof, in Lisse, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_40603 Fields of hyacinths in bloom are seen at the world-renowned Dutch flower garden Keukenhof, in Lisse, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_64648 Visitors enjoy a moment in the sun at the world-renowned Dutch flower garden Keukenhof, in Lisse, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
APTOPIX_Netherlands_63804 Visitors pass tulips at the world-renowned Dutch flower garden Keukenhof, in Lisse, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_92844 Vistors admire floral arrangements at the world-renowned Dutch flower garden Keukenhof, in Lisse, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_20306 Vistors admire floral arrangements at the world-renowned Dutch flower garden Keukenhof, in Lisse, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_98233 Visitors admire floral arrangements at the world-renowned Dutch flower garden Keukenhof, in Lisse, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AP Photo/Peter Dejong
Netherlands_19600 The sun illuminates cherry blossom at the world-renowned Dutch flower garden Keukenhof, in Lisse, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
ALMERE, Netherlands (AP) — Tulips herald the advent of spring — and the Dutch believe they can also highlight ways to fight climate change.
Thousands of tulips are in bloom this week to welcome visitors to the opening of the once-in-a-decade Dutch horticultural exhibition called Floriade, which seeks to showcase horticultural innovations that can make urban areas more sustainable and healthier as people around the world increasingly shift to cities.
A new university building on the 60-hectare ( 148-acre) site on the edge of this modern city close to Amsterdam has plants growing from one of its walls, while an apartment block is decked out in huge prints of flowers. It towers over a newly-built cable car and a Corten steel sculpture of two human figures made up of tens of thousands of bees.
Sculptor Florentijn Hofman says he is sending a message about protecting biodiversity.
“The work is about the relationship between bees and humanity, about connection. It’s about equilibrium and a respectful relationship between humans and animals and our complex interrelationship with nature,” he said.
Even the site itself highlights Dutch technical knowhow — it is built on land reclaimed from the sea decades ago. And amid a Dutch affordable housing crisis, the Floriade terrain is envisaged to become a new urban area of 3,000 homes after the expo ends on Oct. 9.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander was opening the event Wednesday. It expects to welcome 2 million visitors as the displays shift through the seasons, from springtime to summer and autumn.
The legacy will be “a very, very green living area, a living arboretum,” said Annemarie Jorritsma, a senior Dutch representative at the show. “People are going to live within the nature. And I think it will be a wonderful experience to be able to live here.”
Previous Floriades have been about building parks while this edition is about building a city, says architect Winy Maas, who designed the layout.
“For the first time, this is a Floriade that can become a neighborhood,” he said.
More than 25 nations are presenting sustainable ideas during this year’s show under the theme “Growing Green Cities.” The Netherlands, a world leader in horticulture, has a one-hectare greenhouse where farmers are showing off their newest innovations.
Other countries are blending old and new in their national pavilions — from Qatar’s 3D-printed buildings shaped like age-old pigeon towers to China showcasing new uses for bamboo, a traditional building material.
“What I like very much is that China has taken the trouble to do not something traditional, but to use a traditional material — bamboo — for a very modern developments,” said Jorritsma.
“So you also can see that … in China, people are now thinking about what are we doing? How can we change our use of the materials we already have and use them in a very modern way?” she added.
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