Essentially The Hague – Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Wednesday November 4, 2026

Good morning, The Hague. Today: households skip a 2027 tax rise as the freedom contribution is scrapped, Sinterklaas rides through the city on 14 November, and the Dire Straits Experience plays Brothers in Arms and Money for Nothing.

Book details life in The Hague’s 18th-century Dolhuis: For centuries, people judged confused or unwanted were housed at the Slijkeinde in the city centre. Former Parnassia spiritual carer Corry van Straten spent years reading the institution’s minutes and account books, and she names the inmates and the staff. A memorial on the site may be unveiled in 2027.

Chris and Ada still sell pumpkins past 80: Chris and Ada van der Ende have sold thousands of pumpkins each year from a shed on the Delftsestraatweg in Delfgauw for more than 25 years. They started after selling most of their market garden to neighbours. The shed closed on 1 November and reopens in August.

Voorburg fan writes 400-page book on Kate Bush: Marcel Rijs was seven when he saw Kate Bush perform Wuthering Heights on television, and his parents called her a witch. Nearly fifty years on, he has told her story through her songs rather than her private life, drawing on interviews with her collaborators.

Breakfast spot BAM! settles on the Dagelijkse Groenmarkt: Joel and Nienke left careers in accountancy and drama therapy during the pandemic, opening their first BAM! in Tilburg in 2022 and Rotterdam in 2024. The Hague branch moved into the former Barista Café site in June, serving affordable, mostly house-made plates, with Utrecht planned for later this year.

Elsmainy rebuilt her life after 70,000 euros debt: The hair salon where she worked went bankrupt, and the lost income brought rent arrears and then homelessness for her and her daughter. A youth counsellor at the Jongeren Perspectief Fonds rang housing corporations, and the city arranged a benefit. She now drives children for a transport company.

Freedom contribution scrapped: households skip 2027 tax rise: The government has abandoned a levy that would have raised 1,5 billion euros through income tax to fund defence spending, drawing instead on money set aside to help businesses with electricity costs. The change applies to 2027 only, and parliament debates the revised plans on Wednesday, 4 November.

Free winter events at Kijkduin from 22 November: Winter lights are up and the lighthouse is specially lit, with Sinterklaas due at the Deltaplein at 12.15 and craft and face-painting stops in the shops. A winter parade follows on 13 December, and skating, curling and outdoor games run from 18 to 20 December.

Sinterklaas rides through The Hague on 14 November: He arrives at Scheveningen harbour, and the procession sets off around 12.30 with his horse, winding through shopping streets from Keizerstraat to Denneweg by about 16.30. Stops include Frederik Hendriklaan, Reinkenstraat and Piet Heinstraat. Times are provisional, since the ride can run late.

Rijswijk station area faces a decade of rebuilding: The council has taken the next step toward a greener, safer gateway serving more than 5,000 travellers a day. Safety and liveability measures come first, with major construction expected in five to ten years. Residents can share ideas online or at sessions on 6, 12 and 14 November.

Private rental sector lost 22,000 homes in 2025: Statistics Netherlands says the sector shrank for a second year, down to 1.16 million homes, after a drop of just over 3,000 in 2024. Private individuals sold nearly 37,000 properties, prompted by rent regulation being extended to mid-market rentals. Utrecht saw the most sales, then Noord-Holland.

Flying Pieten and a code red storm in De Grote Sinterklaasfilm: Seventy-nine minutes in Dutch with Dutch subtitles, following the Pieten as a winter storm threatens the rooftop delivery round. 4 November, Flora Filmtheater. FAMILY SHOW

Collage making with Kunstmuseum educators at KunstLab: Children pick favourite artworks from the museum collection to assemble into cut-and-paste collages over an hour. 4 November, 14:00 – 15:00, Centrale Bibliotheek Den Haag, Studio B. KIDS WORKSHOP

Brothers in Arms and Money for Nothing from the Dire Straits Experience: Former Dire Straits saxophonist Chris White plays with singer-guitarist Terence Reis, working through the old catalogue; tickets run 48 to 56 euros. 4 November, 20:00, Amare Studio, Amare. POP / ROCK

Rehearse Handel’s Halleluja with the Haagse Meezing Messiah project: A half-hour session in Studio 1 opens a run of rehearsals on four Messiah movements, beginners welcome, thirty euros total. 4 November, Theater de Vaillant. CLASSICAL

Bollywood playback classics and ghazals in the Giants series at Laaktheater: Each edition takes one legend; this one pairs Mukesh’s film songs with Talat Mahmood’s ghazals, and no Dutch is needed. 4 November, 19:00, Laaktheater. WORLD / FOLK

Ão’s new album Malandra, in Portuguese and English at PAARD: Four musicians from Belgium mixing art pop, afropop and Latin with a thread of Portuguese saudade, singing in two languages. 4 November, 20:00, PAARD, Kleine Zaal. ELECTRONIC / DANCE

Violin, dry humour and farm-to-Concertgebouw stories in Achter de Noten: Marieke de Bruijn pairs playing with talk about classical and pop music, drawing on twenty-five years in studios and on stage. 4 November, 21:30, Het Veur theater. CLASSICAL

Eastern Neighbours Film Festival opens with Shame and Money: Six days of recent features and documentaries from Southeast Europe, most of them Dutch premieres, plus experimental work and a debut competition. 4 November, 19:30, Filmhuis Den Haag: Studio B. FILM

Insulation tips, plant-based dinner walks and bike tours in De Haagse Klimaatweek: Over forty-five activities across the city, run mostly from three hubs, covering energy, food waste, heat and heavy rain. 4 November, 08:00, Diverse locaties in Den Haag. FESTIVALS

Wax sculptures on migration and memory in The Keeper of Crossed Roads: The museum’s first show of work in wax, built around a carved Lithuanian Pensive Christ; under-fifteens get in free. 4 November, 12:00, Museum Beelden aan Zee. ART / MUSEUMS

See KM Iconen at Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Tuesday through Sunday: Open Tuesday to Sunday from ten until five, with entry priced anywhere from nothing up to twenty-two euros. 4 November, 10:00, Kunstmuseum Den Haag. ART / MUSEUMS

Songs about the things left unsaid, in the cabaret show Altijdloos: Spruijt and Opperman’s fourth full-length programme, songs and jokes about conversations never had, with a streak of melancholy; eighteen euros. 4 November, 20:30, Theaters Diligentia en PePijn. COMEDY

Guided sculpture tour, Mediterranean sharing plates and a Giacometti film: You start in the Rui Chafes and Giacometti rooms, walk to a Scheveningen beach house for food, then watch Final Portrait. 4 November, 16:00, Museum Beelden aan Zee en Strandhuis hito. FILM

Four Dutch Grand Prix trophies together in Mini Expo: The Trophy Collection: Royal Delft made all four, with designers including Piet Boon and Anouk Wipprecht; you can get close and take photos. 4 November, 09:30, Royal Delft Museum. ART / MUSEUMS

Drag Bingo with My Little Puny and Keta Minaj, 18 and over: Bingo rounds alternate with drag performance across four evening hours, food alongside, glitter and runway outfits encouraged, adults only. 4 November, 18:00, BY AMI Urban Bistro. GAMES / HOBBIES

Monthly tango salon Tango Mooovs, free, with a beginners’ hour first: An introductory hour opens the evening, then DJs play Golden Age classics until around eleven; nothing to pay, no experience needed. 4 November, 19:00 – 23:00, Amare Studio, Amare. SOCIAL / DRINKS

Free Salsa Night on the Grote Markt, every Wednesday: A different DJ each week plays salsa, bachata, merengue, cumbia and zouk; beginners dance too, and after eleven it’s 18-plus. 4 November, 22:00 – 01:00, De Boterwaag. SOCIAL / DRINKS

Sewing course in English and Dutch, six people per group: Five evenings of two and a half hours with designer Dewi Bekker, bring your own machine and project; industrial equipment on site. 4 November, 19:00, Das Leben am Haverkamp. WORKSHOP

Free English job-hunting workshops: Kickstart your career in South Holland: Four Wednesday mornings on personal branding, CVs, LinkedIn and interviews, free, capped at ten people who attend every session. 4 November, 9:30 – 12:00, Den Haag, Centraal Station. WORKSHOP / TRAINING

Try out team-session formats at Spice Up Your Team Sessions, free: An afternoon and evening testing facilitation formats in rotating groups, with dinner and participant cases, aimed at coaches and scrum masters. 4 November, 16:00 – 21:00, InnSpire HQ. WORKSHOP / TRAINING

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