Wednesday September 30, 2026
Good morning, The Hague. Today: women peacebuilders gather at the Peace Palace, a large mural is unveiled near Hollands Spoor station, and children's festival brings free outdoor shows to neighbourhoods.
The activities listed below are just a curated sample of what’s going on in The Hague. Check out our completely redesigned events calendar here.
At a glance
🌦️ Weather: Hi 24°C / 74°F (1° cooler than yesterday) · Lo 18°C / 64°F · 22% chance of rain · wind S 16 km/h (9 knots)
🚲 Cycling: Dry until about 18:00, wet after that.
🌙 Sun & moon: Sunrise 07:41 · Sunset 19:22 · Waning Gibbous · Moonrise 20:25 · Golden hour 18:52 to 19:22
🌊 Outdoors: Air quality fair (AQI 29) · grass pollen low
💶 Markets: AEX 1,120 (+0.4%) · S&P 500 7,671 (-0.2%) · €1 = $1.14 · $1 = €0.88
Circus artist tours worldwide with robotic acrobat: Daniel Simu performs international acrobatic shows alongside Robin, a machine he built during lockdown. The partnership offers precise predictability but comes with unexpected mechanical failures on stage.
Dogs allowed off leash on beaches from Thursday 1 October: Pet owners can let their dogs run freely along all local beaches starting this week. The winter access rules remain in place until the middle of May.
Large mural unveiled near Hollands Spoor station: The Haagse Straat Ooievaar project has completed its largest artwork to date on a building facade. The abstract piece uses green, yellow, and the city stork to welcome arrivals.
Women peacebuilders gather at Peace Palace: More than 65 peacebuilders from global conflict zones have arrived in The Hague for a dedicated summit. The meeting allows delegates who are often excluded from official talks to exchange experiences and draft joint agendas.
New book explores 18th-century Hague asylum care: Author Corry van Straten examines daily life inside the historic Dolhuys asylum at Slijkeinde. Her research suggests care for people with mental health issues was better than commonly assumed.
ICC Assembly relocates 2026 session to The Hague: The International Criminal Court will move its annual meeting from New York following concerns over US sanctions and visa limits. The relocated session will run in late 2026.
Children festival brings free outdoor shows to neighbourhoods: De Betovering will stage pop-up street theatre across six parts of The Hague this autumn break. The open-air events are free to attend and run from 13:00 to 17:00 daily.
Muzikale Poppenvoorstelling Olifant en Krokodil for young children: Max Velthuijs stories come alive with puppets and music for children aged three to seven and their parents. 30 September, 14:00 - 14:45, Bibliotheek Leidschenveen. 📅 FAMILY SHOW
Turn ink spots into fantasy birds at Bibliotheek Ypenburg: Children combine alcohol ink, watercolours, and markers to transform accidental blots into colourful fantasy birds. 30 September, 15:30 - 17:00, Bibliotheek Ypenburg. 📅 KIDS WORKSHOP
Dammen voor de jeugd draughts training at Transvaalkwartier: Former champion Pertap coaches young players across the board, with no booking needed to drop in. 30 September, 14:30, Bibliotheek Transvaalkwartier. 📅 KIDS WORKSHOP
Art-S-Cool creative workshop for children: Children draw, paint and build visual stories around the Kinderboekenweek theme with guidance from an artist. 30 September, 14:00, Bibliotheek Escamp. 📅 KIDS WORKSHOP
Electroacoustic works at the Sonologie Discussieconcert: Conservatory students and guest composers play experimental electronic music through specialised sound systems in the concert hall. 30 September, 19:00, Amare Studio, Amare. 📅 CLASSICAL
Share and sing neighbourhood songs at NOORD Zingt!: Composer Maia Steinberg leads this bilingual singing session where neighbours teach each other music from their cultures. 30 September, NOORD. 📅 CHOIR / VOCAL
Classical works from Bach to Pärt: A classical programme explores musical contrast through works ranging from Bach to Arvo Pärt. 30 September, 20:15, Amare Studio, Amare. 📅 CLASSICAL
British trio Little Barrie bring psych-soul to PAARD: Raw live blues, soul and psychedelia from a stripped-back three-piece touring songs from their latest record Gravity Freeze. 30 September, 20:00, PAARD. 📅 POP / ROCK
Protest songs under academic scrutiny at Music That Changed The World: Sociology professor Pauwke Berkers leads an evening examining whether political songs actually make a difference. 30 September, PAARD. 📅 POP / ROCK
Outerspace Presents: Darkspace brings late-night electronic sets: Five hours of late-night electronic music featuring sets from Ghost in the Machine, Hypnoise Theory, and Coman Dante. 30 September, 23:59 - 05:00. 📅 ELECTRONIC / DANCE
Stamppot and hardcore rave at Food & Music From Holland: Dine on traditional Dutch mash and vlaflip before two DJs spin early hardcore and raw rave sets. 30 September, 18:00, Musicon. 📅 FOOD / MARKETS
Filming the art detective with journalist Peter Tetteroo: A documentary maker recounts tailing investigator Arthur Brand during searches for missing masterpieces by Picasso and Van Gogh. 30 September, 20:00, Buitenplaats Ockenburgh, in het Theater. 📅 TALKS / IDEAS
Neighbourhood art and antiques market returns to Valkenbosplein: Local residents from four surrounding districts can sell goods or swap plants on Sunday 18 October. Communal tables are available for those with only a few items to offer.
International boxing tournament returns to De Houtzagerij: Bettah Boxing Gym will host the sixteenth Boksbonanza in The Hague next month. Athletes from across Europe will compete in up to twenty matches in the Schilderswijk.
Willem van der Hofstede paints changing city: Artist Willem van der Hofstede opens an exhibition featuring paintings of The Hague in motion. The show runs at KunstPost through 11 October.
New jazz festival comes to Grote Markt: The Free State Jazz Festival will hold its first edition in mid-October across several central venues. All performances are free to attend.
KunstPost hosts open stage spoken word evening: The cultural space on Het Kleine Loo welcomes poets, storytellers and musicians on 9 October. Both performers and audience members must register in advance.
Walking tour traces Mohammad Hatta through Bezuidenhout: A guided walk on 7 October explores the neighbourhood where the Indonesian independence leader spent his student years. Participants can register by email ahead of the morning tour.
Paddleboard canal clean-up starting from Kompaan Brouwerij: Boards, scoop nets and trash bags are provided to pull floating litter from local waterways. 30 September, 14:00, Kompaan Brouwerij & Bar. 📅 SPORTS
Acting Together adult community theater workshop in English: Adults of any experience level practice drama exercises together in a weekly drop-in format. 30 September, 18:00, Huiskamer voor Vluchtenlingen. 📅 WORKSHOP
Guided heritage stroll and three-course Hotel Des Indes tea: Historic diplomatic quarters fill the walking route before a seated afternoon service inside the hotel lounge. 30 September, 11:00, De Haagse Hop. 📅 TOUR
Recreational indoor volleyball session on Maria van Bourgondiëlaan: Two hours of casual court play organized for local adults, sharing the municipal gym rental cost. 30 September, 19:00, Gymzaal Maria van Bourgondiëlaan. 📅 SPORTS
Multilingual conversation practice at LCU Meeting #826: Tables pair up conversational partners across dozens of languages in a relaxed public cafe room. 30 September, 20:00 - 23:00, Café Marktzicht. 📅 SOCIAL / DRINKS
Managing shipboard Kubernetes platforms at a tech meetup: Sander Sneekes explains migrating offshore edge environments from Rancher to Talos Linux over a shared dinner. 30 September, 17:15, Fruitweg 38. 📅 SEMINAR / TALK
Toastmasters Open House tackles the inner critic: Three club speeches, an interactive mindset workshop, and impromptu speaking practice introduce guests to public speaking. 30 September, 19:00 - 21:30, The Hague University of Applied Sciences. 📅 WORKSHOP / TRAINING
Good to know
New on Dutch streaming: The Town (Netflix), The Equalizer (Prime Video), The Last Woodsmen (HBO Max), Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll (SkyShowtime)
New on the big screen: By Any Means is now showing at Pathé Spuimarkt and Pathé Ypenburg, and F*ck de Familie at Pathé Scheveningen and Pathé Ypenburg. Showtimes here.
Overheard on Reddit: A student asked locals about speaking the local dialect in The Hague, with respondents pointing out the cultural divide between working-class Hagenezen and posh Hagenaren, debating whether the accent is dying out among younger generations, and sharing the specific situations where their dialect still slips out.
Today's supermarket deals: Ben & Jerry's Caramel chew chew (1+1 free) from Albert Heijn, Conference pears or Jonagold apples (1+1 free) from Jumbo.
Did you know? Switzerland donated the very clock that still keeps time atop the Peace Palace's tower in The Hague.
261 years ago today: On September 30th, 1765, Leopold Mozart advertised a Hague concert for young Wolfgang that was cancelled after his sister fell ill.
Looking ahead – next week
The bigger things coming up in The Hague over the next seven days.
• The Hague Cocktail Week · Friday 2 October
• Le Marie Marché French Market · Saturday 3 October
• Home Made Market · Sunday 4 October
• Weekend of Science (Weekend van de Wetenschap) · Sunday 4 October
• Open Studios The Hague (Open Ateliers) · Saturday 3 October
In tomorrow’s edition: In tomorrow's edition: a film screening of The Sharp Edge of Peace and Q&A at Mariott - The Hague, Haagse zwembaden door de tijd heen at Atrium Den Haag, and an evening walk through Misdadig Den Haag at Rijksmuseum de Gevangenpoort.
Have a great Wednesday.
Running something in The Hague? Tell us about it and we will take a look.
The autumn light is shifting earlier each day now, and there is something in the air that makes wandering through the city feel like the right thing to do.
Want to make sure you never miss a day of Essentially The Hague? Subscribe here.