Rock band Golden Earring and assassinated politician Pim Fortuyn have had their names enshrined in two bridges near a park in The Hague.

The Pimfortuynbrug and Golden Earringbrug acquired their blue bordered name boards in May with no ceremony, after protracted efforts by the city council to agree on a suitable location.

Hart voor Den Haag, the populist party led by Richard de Mos, lauched a campaign in 2019 to name a street after Fortuyn, who was shot dead days before the 2002 general election.

The council decided two years later to give his name to a bridge because of the controversy surrounding his anti-Islam views. “Not everyone wants to live in a Pim Fortuynstraat,” city alderman Hilbert Bredemeijer said at the time.

The bridge crosses the Laakkanaal and connects the Zuiderpark to the multi-ethnic Transvaal district across Veluweplein. It is also close to the Meester P. Drooglever Fortuynweg, named after a former alderman in The Hague and mayor of Rotterdam in the first half of the 20th century.

The decision to honour Golden Earring was also taken in 2021 after the band announced they would stop touring when guitarist George Kooymans was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (ALS).

Golden Earring were formed in The Hague in 1961 and are best known internationally for their hit Radar Love, but the band released 25 studio albums in their 60-year history.

Founder member Rinus Gerritsen said he had “no idea” that the bridge across Soesdijkseplein had been named after the band until he was asked about it by NOS on Tuesday.

“I’m really happy about it,” he said. “The fact that a bridge has been named after us means we’ve done something that moves people to do this sort of thing. And Soestdijkseplein is where we grew up.”