Wednesday October 21, 2026
Good morning, The Hague. Today: Kunstmuseum Den Haag shows its batik collection for the first time, Festival De Betovering opens for the autumn break, and free street theatre arrives on the Grote Marktstraat.
At a glance
🌦️ Weather: Hi 13°C / 55°F (about the same as yesterday) · Lo 10°C / 50°F · 18% chance of rain · wind S 27 km/h (15 knots)
🚲 Cycling: Wet most of the day, take the tram.
🌙 Sun & moon: Sunrise 08:18 · Sunset 18:35 · Waxing Gibbous · Moonrise 16:52 · Golden hour 18:05 to 18:35
🌊 Outdoors: Air quality fair (AQI 29) · grass pollen low
💶 Markets: AEX 1,134 (-0.7%) · S&P 500 7,712 (+0.3%) · €1 = $1.12 · $1 = €0.89
Natasja grows food and community in Zuiderpark: Boerendorp in Zuiderpark grows fresh produce for people supported by the Food Bank and Steunpunt Minima. Heat and drought disrupted deliveries this year, so the team is extending its winter harvest.
Museum Mesdag shows the seascapes of Betzy Akersloot-Berg: The Mesdag museum is showing Betzy Akersloot-Berg, one of the first women to paint seascapes. She was also a successful businesswoman, according to the available summary.
Takeaway apps to compensate customers over hidden fees: The Consumentenbond said the platforms had placed surcharges at the end of orders and shown misleading discounts. Vouchers worth €5 to €30 will go to millions of customers.
Máxima to attend Schuldenlab070 anniversary in The Hague: The meeting on 28 October will mark a decade of cooperation on problem debt. Partners will also set new commitments aimed at improving financial security for residents.
Nobel laureate Navi Pillay meets The Hague mayor: Pillay highlighted the role of international justice as legal principles face pressure around the world. She served as a judge at The Hague’s International Criminal Court from 2003 to 2008.
Delft professor’s fix finally gets tram 19 running: Tram 19 now passes TU Delft laboratories without disturbing their instruments, thanks to a design by emeritus professor Pieter Kruit. The university patented it, and it has since been used in Utrecht and Sweden.
Kunstmuseum Den Haag to show its batik collection for the first time: More than 150 objects will bring textiles, fashion, furniture and interiors together. The exhibition links Javanese batik with Dutch applied art from 1890 to 1930.
Scheveningen fireworks show planned for New Year’s Eve: A 15-minute display spanning 250 metres is planned for the New Year celebrations. Organisers say their partnership with Caffero allows the show to go ahead despite the city’s rules on private fireworks.
The Hague court nominated for Sakharov Prize: Socialist MEPs submitted the nomination alongside those of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu and Iranian sisters Taraneh and Romania Rahimi. The winner will be announced Monday, with the ceremony set for December 16 in Strasbourg.
Sporttuin Duindorp reopens under stricter rules: Sporttuin Duindorp is reopening for drop-in access after a temporary closure prompted by a series of incidents. New conduct rules set out how staff should respond to misconduct.
Festival De Betovering opens for autumn break: Youth productions, movement pieces and hands-on workshops fill the rooms, welcoming toddlers and primary school children throughout the day. 21 October, 08:00, De Regentes – Ketelhuis. FESTIVAL / FAIR
Headless – Madness brings free street theatre to Grote Marktstraat: Three headless figures in Sunday clothes wander among shops and terraces, communicating through odd sounds rather than ordinary speech. 21 October, 12:00 – 17:00, Grote Marktstraat. FAMILY SHOW
Fairy tale catwalk and costume workshop at De Betovering: Storybook characters step onto the runway before children sit down to craft fresh paper outfits for each figure. 21 October, Laaktheater. FAMILY SHOW
Podium21’s Children’s Concert retells Peer Gynt with Grieg: Actor Frank Groothof tells, sings and dances Peer Gynt’s story, accompanied by organist Geerten van de Wetering playing Grieg’s music. 21 October. FAMILY SHOW
Rewire soundscapes and Japanese water-marbling for kids: Young participants listen to earth recordings on headphones before marbling floating ink on water to build shared prints. 21 October, Theater Dakota. KIDS WORKSHOP
Peer Gynt with pipe organ at Kloosterkerk: Frank Groothof acts and sings Ibsen’s folktale alongside Grieg’s compositions played live on the church organ. 21 October, Kloosterkerk. FAMILY SHOW
Threads, Remy van Kesteren’s solo harp and electronics project: Harpist and composer Remy van Kesteren combines harp, voice, loops and electronics, with visuals and sound design shaping the solo performance. 21 October, Nieuwe Kerk. CLASSICAL
Sogno di Stabat Mater with the New European Ensemble: Auerbach’s instrumental work for violin, viola and chamber orchestra shares the programme with Dreammusik and a minimalist piece by Kate Moore. 21 October, Amare Studio, Amare. CLASSICAL
Mikhail Voskresensky plays Mozart, Schubert, Liszt and Brahms: His programme ranges from Mozart’s Fantasy in D minor and Schubert’s Impromptu to Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody and Brahms’s Third Sonata. 21 October, 19:00, Davidsbündler Music Academy. CLASSICAL
Cosmic Kitten and Maria’s Molotov share a rock bill: San Pedro band Cosmic Kitten brings 1990s grunge energy together with alternative rock and punk, with Maria’s Molotov opening. 21 October, 20:00, Musicon. POP / ROCK
Thijs Veldhuis returns to PAARD with genre-mixing songs: The Hague singer-songwriter blends rock, indie, pop, classical and electronic influences in a homecoming show in the Kleine Zaal. 21 October, 19:30, PAARD, Kleine Zaal. SINGER-SONGWRITER
DOEK! brings two former acting partners back together: Casper van Bohemen and Linda Møller play actors reunited after ten years, in a story about love, freedom and dependence. 21 October, Greens | restaurant, garden. THEATER
The Last Angel of History + Zombies: two films: Both films have English subtitles; one follows Kinshasa, the other traces Black music, science fiction and diaspora. 21 October, 19:30, Filmhuis Den Haag: Studio B. FILM
Mama’ku follows a mother-daughter search through Indonesia: The documentary follows choreographer Cheroney Pelupessy and her mother uncovering concealed family history, preceded by Aldo Agaatsz’s short film Sudah. 21 October, 20:20, Museon-Omniversum dometheater. FILM
Stefan Pop’s Enough About Me leaves the evening’s subject open: The night’s subject might be Pop, the audience, society, the internet or world events, with the material changing from one performance to another. 21 October, Theater de Veste. COMEDY
Brand New Landscape, a Japanese family drama with subtitles: Ren, an orchid deliveryman in Tokyo, unexpectedly encounters his estranged landscape-architect father after years of family separation; subtitles are Dutch or English. 21 October, 18:45, Filmhuis Den Haag: Studio B. FILM
Free virtual reality exploration of the Binnenhof’s archaeology: Children explore the Binnenhof’s archaeological past in a headset, with coloring and a scavenger hunt available while they wait. 21 October, 13:00, Informatiecentrum Binnenhof Renovatie. ART / MUSEUMS
Open Table, a vegetarian supper for conversation: A fortnightly shared meal brings familiar and new faces together in the Kloosterkerk crypt; it starts at 6:15 pm and costs €4. 21 October. SOCIAL / DRINKS
Walk through the 1930s architecture of Notenbuurt: Peter Bos guides a walk examining Nieuwe Haagse School housing, local vegetable plots, and neighbourhood community rooms. 21 October, 15:30 – 17:00, Notenplein. TOUR
Haagse Hout Film Walk follows traces of local cinema: The route passes former cinema DuMidi, a film location in Bezuidenhout, and sites linked to Willy Mullens and Profilti Film Factory. 21 October, 10:00, WDC Bezuidenhout West. TOUR
Free tessellation workshop for museum visitors: Families create repeating patterns in the atelier, with drawing offered for ages three to six; the workshop lasts about 45 minutes. 21 October, 12:30, Escher in Het Paleis. WORKSHOP
Travel writing narrative craft with Sigrun Dahmer: Upstairs room sessions pair narrative theory with timed writing exercises and an optional group reading circle. 21 October, 15:00 – 17:00, The American Book Center. WORKSHOP
Focaccia & Dinner at Macchè, dough-making and a shared meal: Participants make dough with baker Daniele, learn about flour and yeast, then share a plant-based meal and take home the recipe. 21 October, Macchè. TASTING
Good to know
New on Dutch streaming: Brothers (Apple TV), Friday the 13th (HBO Max), Contagion (Netflix), Pup Star (Prime Video)
New on the big screen: Digger is now showing at 6 cinemas, and Verity at 4 cinemas. Showtimes here.
Overheard on Reddit: A post asking for restaurant recommendations in The Hague; replies suggested Ethiopian, Georgian, and Asian cuisines as underrated options.
Today’s supermarket deals: Häagen-Dazs Macadamia nut brittle (2e free) from Albert Heijn, Fresh spinach, pumpkin chunks or sweet potato chunks (25% off) from Jumbo.
Did you know? The Hague’s City Hall, designed by American architect Richard Meier, is nicknamed "the Ice Palace" for its dazzling white atrium and once played Europol headquarters in "Ocean’s Twelve."
387 years ago today: On October 21st, 1639, Dutch admiral Maarten Tromp crushed a much larger Spanish fleet at the Battle of the Downs, ending Spain’s naval dominance for good.
Looking ahead – next week
The bigger things coming up in The Hague over the next seven days.
• Festival De Betovering · Tuesday 20 October to Sunday 25 October, Centrum Den Haag
• Circus Chapito · Tuesday 20 October to Sunday 25 October, Zuiderpark
• Tulip Town · Wednesday 28 October to Friday 30 October, Amare
In case you missed it
Our three most clicked-on items from yesterday’s newsletter.
In tomorrow’s edition: A lecture on the eccentric Pieter Dircksz, known as Langebaard, fills an evening at Bibliotheek Bezuidenhout, Israel van Dorsten joins the On the spot conversation at the KB national library, and an indigo workshop on Moluccan circles runs at the Centrale Bibliotheek.
Have a great Wednesday.
Running something in The Hague? Tell us about it and we will take a look.
The autumn break slows the mornings down a little, which suits the season.
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