Monday October 19, 2026
Good morning, The Hague. Today: the A4 widening near the city is shelved again, Rijswijk bans youth gatherings in the Muziekbuurt after fires, and L'Inconnue follows a photographer who wakes in a woman's body.
At a glance
🌦️ Weather: Hi 16°C / 60°F (5° warmer than yesterday) · Lo 10°C / 49°F · 23% chance of rain · wind E 18 km/h (10 knots)
🚲 Cycling: Wet most of the day, take the tram.
🌙 Sun & moon: Sunrise 08:14 · Sunset 18:40 · First Quarter · Moonrise 16:22 · Golden hour 18:10 to 18:40
🌊 Outdoors: Air quality moderate (AQI 41) · grass pollen low
💶 Markets: AEX 1,143 (+0.9%) · S&P 500 7,659 (-1.1%) · €1 = $1.13 · $1 = €0.89
The Hague radio scouts prepare for emergencies: Fourteen young members of PI4RS use amateur radio and technical skills to keep communications going if power and internet fail. The group also wants to encourage more young people to study technology.
The Hague murder that inspired the Kop van Jut: A double murder in 1872 led to a fairground game where visitors struck an anvil shaped like convicted killer Hendrik Jut. Public anger helped drive its appeal.
Rijswijk bans youth gatherings in Muziekbuurt after fires: From Saturday, groups of young people who gather in the Muziekbuurt will be arrested on the spot and fined at the police station. They can only go home once a parent collects them.
Sahin Yildirim helps The Hague children get ahead: After being bullied over his background, the son of a Turkish labour migrant now runs Excellent Academy. The tutoring school offers extra support, talent programmes and summer classes.
Harold's pigeons keep him going despite lung damage: The Monster resident has just 26% lung capacity and may be assessed for a transplant. His birds give him a reason to stay active, even as his health limits daily tasks.
Hague man's ALS diagnosis turned out to be wrong after four years: A diagnosis at an ALS centre in Utrecht was overturned after a second opinion found Fred van Leeuwen did not have the disease. He had stopped working and begun planning his future around it.
A4 widening near The Hague shelved again: The cabinet has no money for the motorway project or €270 million for regional rail and Rotterdam metro expansion. Funding remains for the Vlietlijn and upgrades to the Oude Lijn railway.
Safety concerns at Escamp senior housing complex: Residents at The Coornhert in Moerwijk report open entrance doors, theft, bedbugs and people sleeping in shared areas. The landlord says it is discussing responses with tenants, while a party plans questions to the city.
Interactive North Sea flood dance Springtij at De Betovering: Dancers move among young spectators before leading an informal discussion about tidal surges and the 1953 disaster. 19 October, 14:00, Muzee Scheveningen. FAMILY SHOW
Crafts, live animation and dancing at Betovering-buiten: Free admission lets children aged three and up watch live animation, build wooden vehicles, reuse materials for art, and weave neighbourhood wishes. 19 October, Jacob van Campenplein. FESTIVAL / FAIR
Stuntelman tests courage in a crash lab gone wrong: Professor BOEM's crash-lab experiments leave her fearless stuntman fragile, in a 55-minute music-theatre story for children and adults. 19 October, 15:00, Theater aan het Spui - Zaal 2. FAMILY SHOW
Build paper actors and cardboard stages at Schaduwtheater maken: School-age children assemble cardboard stages and cut-out moving figures, then test them against focused light. 19 October, 14:00 - 15:30, Bibliotheek Benoordenhout. KIDS WORKSHOP
Fourteenth-century court lions explored in Laat de poppen dansen!: City archivists guide primary school kids through the medieval history of exotic menageries kept around the Binnenhof. 19 October, 15:30 - 16:30, Bibliotheek Ypenburg. KIDS WORKSHOP
Free 'I Don't Want New Trousers' play and workshop: Sky resists replacing her favourite trousers until a patchwork dress changes her mind; the play is followed by a related workshop. 19 October, 14:00, VrouwenBuurtLab. FAMILY SHOW
Two old friends share jokes and stories in Alles is Comedy: Najib Amhali and Roué Verveer mix stand-up with conversations about ageing, fatherhood, success and doubt, drawing on 25 years of friendship. 19 October, 20:00, AFAS Circustheater. COMEDY
Free archaeology talks on Keizerstraat's buried past: Municipal archaeologists discuss cemetery remains and what they reveal about health, work and living conditions in centuries-old Scheveningen. 19 October, 16:00, Oude Kerk Scheveningen. TALKS / IDEAS
O'Casey's Monday Night Comedy brings several English-language comics together: Several comedians perform adult stand-up sets in English as part of this weekly Monday comedy night. 19 October, 19:30, O'Casey's Irish Pub & Restaurant. COMEDY
Hundreds of Beavers turns a penniless salesman into a trapper: In English with Dutch subtitles, this black-and-white live-action animation follows a penniless salesman hunting beavers to win a fur trader's daughter. 19 October, 15:30, Filmhuis Den Haag: Studio B. FILM
The VVitch in Gather 'Round Folks: Robert Eggers' period folk horror plays in English with Dutch subtitles, following a seventeenth-century Puritan family exiled into wilderness. 19 October, 21:30, Filmhuis Den Haag: Studio B. FILM
L'Inconnue follows a photographer who wakes in a woman's body: Arthur Harari's French-language film follows David Zimmerman after he wakes in a mysterious woman's body, with English subtitles at this screening. 19 October, 18:30, Filmhuis Den Haag: Studio B. FILM
Esther van der Voort tries new material in 'Mum's Trying Too': In Dutch, she tries new jokes, shares fresh stories and existing material, and involves the audience during this stand-up performance. 19 October, Comedy Cafe Amsterdam. COMEDY
Astrid Roemer discussion at Surinaamse boekenclub: Readers gather on the fourth floor of the central library to discuss Astrid Roemer's Het spoor van de Jakhals. 19 October, 19:00, Centrale Bibliotheek, 1e verdieping, Studio B. GAMES / HOBBIES
Ice skating season at De Uithof runs through March: The ice rink offers public skating daily throughout the season, with admission ranging from €10.50 to €43.50. 19 October, 09:00, De Uithof. SPORTS
Good to know
New on Dutch streaming: Kate Berlant: Parmesan (HBO Max), Annabelle Comes Home (Netflix), Chateau Christmas (Prime Video), Mission: Yozakura Family (Disney+)
New on the big screen: Clayface opens Thursday at 3 cinemas, and Nayyi Navelli is now showing at 3 cinemas. Showtimes here.
Overheard on Reddit: A recent graduate earning 47k annually the housing market is fundamentally broken cannot find a rental studio in The Hague.
Today's supermarket deals: All Bokbeers (25% off) from Jumbo, All Mrs. Kitty (1+1 free) from Jumbo.
Did you know? Panorama Mesdag, a giant 360-degree painting of the Scheveningen coast created in The Hague in 1881, is the oldest surviving panorama painting still shown in its original building anywhere on Earth.
46 years ago today: On October 19th, 1980, over 15,000 anti-nuclear activists began blockading the Dodewaard nuclear power plant, in one of the Netherlands' largest environmental protests ever.
Looking ahead – next week
The bigger things coming up in The Hague over the next seven days.
• Festival De Betovering · Saturday 17 October to Sunday 25 October, Centrum Den Haag
• Circus Chapito · Friday 16 October to Sunday 25 October, Zuiderpark
• Street Theatre Grote Marktstraat · Wednesday 21 October to Saturday 24 October, Grote Marktstraat
In case you missed it
Our three most clicked-on items from yesterday’s newsletter.
In tomorrow’s edition: A LEGO printmaking workshop for ages 7 and up runs at the Grafische Werkplaats, an escape game plays out at Museum de Gevangenpoort, and De Betovering brings Er was weer Assepoester! to Bibliotheek Scheveningen.
Have a great Monday.
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The light goes early now, so the evening plans start a little sooner.
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