Essentially The Hague for Saturday 24 October: Woman wins 1.4 million, Pier plans farewell, EU chief visits ICC

Saturday October 24, 2026

Good morning, The Hague. Today: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas visits the International Criminal Court, the owner of the Scheveningen Pier plans a farewell party before it closes, and a guided family beach walk goes looking for shells, crabs and seaweed.

Petra Blok was 17 when she started squatting: Now 58, Blok spent six years in the 1980s squatting movement, running a housing advice hour on the Lutherse Burgwal. Her book describes the September 1987 clash when football supporters turned on demonstrators and besieged De Blauwe Aanslag, the squat where about fifty people lived.

Zwier, 16, aims for a slinging podium on Ibiza: The Scheveningen teenager picked up the ancient sport after seeing a video online, then used a homemade rope sling to throw his dog's ball. He taught himself from the internet and now makes his own slings. Third in the youth category last year, he is the only Dutch entrant.

Why Anouk plays from the Grote Kerk carillon: The hourly programme on the Grote Kerk carillon mixes a march by Antwerp composer Johannes de Gruijtters, a German folk song arranged by Brahms, Mahler and a fragment of Anouk's Girls. The automatic carillon plays every quarter hour from 8.15 to 21.00, and the programme changes every four months.

Child vaccination rates low in Centrum, Escamp and Laak: New figures from GGD Haaglanden show that for almost every jab in the national vaccination programme, too few children are protected to keep outbreaks at bay. The council says mumps, measles and whooping cough could spread, and is working with schools, health services and community figures to raise uptake.

Average home now costs €504,658 as growth slows: Owner-occupied homes were 2.9% more expensive in September than a year earlier, down from 3.3% in August, according to Statistics Netherlands and the Land Registry. Month-on-month, prices fell 0.4%, a second straight dip. Around 20,000 existing homes changed hands, over 7% fewer than last September.

Hague woman wins 1.4 million jackpot in Scheveningen: She did not realise she had won until another player beside her pointed it out, just after midnight on Friday. The win came on a Mega Millions slot machine at Holland Casino, and the exact prize was 1,394,936 euros. The 67-year-old winner wants to stay anonymous.

Scheveningen Pier owner plans farewell party before closure: The event is pencilled in for the middle of next year, with beach businesses involved and a farewell song being written. Exact plans depend on talks with the city. The renovation, now due to start late 2027 rather than early that year, should last three to four years.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas visits ICC: Kaja Kallas, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and a Vice-President of the European Commission, came to the court in The Hague on 23 October. She met its president, deputy prosecutor and registrar to discuss pressures on international justice and continued backing for the court's work.

Vogelwijk waits until 2030 for Sportlaan hospital homes: Alderman Kavish Partiman told a political debate that work on the former HagaZiekenhuis site could begin in 2030 at the very earliest. A new building brief is due in the second quarter of 2027, followed by tendering, design and permits. The Vogelwijk has 1.8% social housing, against 30.7% citywide.

Tax-free allowance for internationals drops to 27%: From 1 January 2027 the Expat Scheme cap falls, with higher salary thresholds for those who started after 1 January 2025. Earlier arrivals keep the 30% rate. Grandfathered partial non-resident status also ends, taxing worldwide Box 2 and Box 3 assets.

Beats and sounds at Carrera's Beatlab, for ages 10 and up: Children from ten up build their own beats and sounds into a finished track, then play it onstage that afternoon. 24 October, Carrera's Muziekatelier. KIDS WORKSHOP

Feel Escher's illusions before the museum opens, ages 8 and up: Before opening hours a guide walks children with a visual impairment through Escher's patterns using relief panels and objects they can handle. 24 October, Escher in Het Paleis. MUSEUM / EDUCATIONAL

Shells, crabs and seaweed on a guided family beach walk: Coby Moesker leads up to twenty people along the tideline, so bring a tub for whatever the group turns up. 24 October, 10:00, strandopgang naast Patagonia aan het Zwarte Pad. OUTDOOR / ACTIVE

Percussion first, then an easel and a canvas to take home: Children try classical and homemade percussion in the Base Line rooms, then paint freely on canvas and carry the result home. 24 October, 14:00, Kunstmuseum Den Haag. KIDS WORKSHOP

Autumn holiday trail and paper instruments around the music exhibition: A music treasure hunt runs all day and in the Doe Lab kids build instruments from paper, elastic bands and lolly sticks. 24 October, 09:30, Museon - Omniversum. KIDS WORKSHOP

Rob Lamberti sings George Michael and Wham with a live band: A tribute set of Careless Whisper, Faith and the Wham years, with backing musicians who have played alongside George Michael. 24 October, 20:00, World Forum Theater. POP / ROCK

Country hits and line dancing at Country Club, over-18s: Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen on rotation in the big hall, with dancing and live elements. 24 October, PAARD, Kleine Zaal. WORLD / FOLK

Extreme metal from Cryptosis, thrash openers Hallowed Fire: The five-piece opens for the Dutch trio behind last year's Celestial Death, with music from half eight until roughly eleven. 24 October, 20:00, Musicon. POP / ROCK

French chanson, Brel and Piaf in Tess Merlot's Scheveningen set: A Hague chansonnière mixes Brel and Piaf standards with her own work, in a room of seats, bar stools and standing space. 24 October, 20:30, Podium aan Zee. SINGER-SONGWRITER

Dutch-language indie folk from Meyendel, plus poet Lena Plantinga: The Hague band plays its debut Ik Land Wel Weer, songs about human friction, after support from Tiny Snail Kid. 24 October, 19:00, PAARD, Kleine Zaal. POP / ROCK

Hear one picture rendered three ways by sound poet Lawrence McGuire: A quartet, a duo and a recital in invented language all work from one image, sounded into the floor below. 24 October, 19:00 - 21:30, West Den Haag at Spui 130. DANCE / PERFORMANCE

Prince's former guitarist joins The Funketeers in Wateringen: A Hague five-piece rooted in jazz, funk and R&B, with Miko Weaver sitting in and the set running late. 24 October, 21:00, WPC Nederland 3. JAZZ / BLUES

A late kick-off for ADO Den Haag against SC Heerenveen: Back in the Eredivisie this season, the home side meet Heerenveen in a late evening kick-off, tickets at various prices. 24 October, 21:00, WerkTalent Stadion - ADO Den Haag voetbalstadion. SPORTS

Tour the Thyssen-Bornemisza Masterpieces from Madrid exhibition: A docent guides you past twenty-five visiting Spanish loans, including works by Dürer, El Greco, and Jan van Eyck. 24 October, Mauritshuis. ART / MUSEUMS

Live piano under the northern lights in Résonances Boréales: Roman Zavada plays nine compositions written after twenty hours improvising by a Canadian lake, while the dome fills with aurora footage. 24 October, 19:00, Museon - Omniversum. ART / MUSEUMS

Viva la Frida, a musical show about Frida Kahlo for 8-to-12s: Daphne tells Kahlo's life in fifty minutes with no set, improvising with humour, as part of the De Betovering festival. 24 October, 11:00, Kunstmuseum Den Haag. ART / MUSEUMS

No Lonely Dance Floors, a month of dance, no Dutch needed: Built around connection, the line-up puts different temporary communities of dancers together, from skippers to gabbers to seasoned dance lovers. 24 October, 14:00, Korzo theater. DANCE / PERFORMANCE

The Virgin of the Quarry Lake, folk horror with English subtitles: Three teenage friends in 2001 Buenos Aires fall for the same childhood friend, ninety-three minutes in Spanish with English subtitles. 24 October, 19:00, Filmhuis Den Haag: Studio B. FILM

Bring your own materials to an open craft studio morning: Adults, or adults with a child, draw, embroider, crochet or paint at shared tables, with easels, aprons and coffee provided. 24 October, 10:00, De Kust Den Haag. ART / MUSEUMS

Zino's Sandwich Rave, second sandwich free if you post it: Music and dancing in the sandwich shop, and the second one is free if you share online that you came. 24 October, 12:00, Zino's. SOCIAL / DRINKS

Contact improvisation jam with live percussion, no Dutch needed: Two hours of partnered improvising to Joshua Samson's live drumming, open to beginners, though first-timers are advised to take a lesson. 24 October, 19:00, Another Kind of Blue. CLASS

Cut a quill, mix oak gall ink, free with museum entry: A museum teacher shows how medieval scribes cut quills, made ink from gall nuts and worked on parchment, drop in anytime. 24 October, 12:00, Rijksmuseum Meermanno. WORKSHOP

Three tastings on the iLocal Premium Food Tour of the Schilderswijk: Two and a half to three hours on foot through a district of more than 120 nationalities, guide and tastings included. 24 October, 12:00, The Social Hub The Hague. TOUR

One painting discussed over a drink, in Dutch, at the Mauritshuis: The Kunstborrel group spends half an hour at a table on a single work, then goes into the galleries to see it. 24 October, 16:00, Mauritshuis. SOCIAL / DRINKS

Dhammakaya meditation and Buddhist philosophy on Beeklaan: Beginners sit for guided mindfulness practice followed by an open discussion about realistic optimism and Buddhist wisdom. 24 October, 14:00, Smiles Health Center. CLASS

Two hours by bike past the Binnenhof and the Peace Palace: A Hague guide rolls past hidden courtyards and the Dunne Bierkade, telling stories with old images and sound clips, bike hire optional. 24 October, 11:00, Binnenstad. TOUR

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