Essentially The Hague for Friday 30 October: Drug dogs join patrols, city sues over tunnel, ceviche workshop

Friday October 30, 2026

Good morning, The Hague. Today: sniffer dogs join drug patrols in the Oude Centrum, the Peruvian Food Festival returns for a ninth edition with a ceviche workshop, and the city sues a contractor to reopen the Hubertustunnel by December.

Hague requests grid priority for 32,000 new homes: The requests cover 99 projects with construction starts running from this year to 2034. Stedin cannot promise capacity everywhere: in Laak, the Jan Wapstraat substation is not due for expansion until 2035. Businesses already on the waiting list could be pushed back further.

City sues contractor to reopen Hubertustunnel by December: The Hague has gone to court to force the contractor to finish work on the closed Hubertustunnel by 15 December 2026. The tunnel, on one of the busiest routes in the city, has been shut since July last year, with three earlier reopening dates missed.

Nearly 45,000 jobs tied to The Hague's international sector: Municipal research counted 520 international organisations plus more than 110 embassies and consulates in the region in 2025, a rise of 211% since 2005. The sector accounts for around 10% of the city's economy and €8.6 billion in yearly spending, with 58% of its jobs open to practically trained workers.

Fears over Archipelbuurt refugee shelter fade after three months: Around 700 people signed a petition against housing 45 teenage asylum seekers at the corner of Javastraat and Surinamestraat, warning of crime and insecurity. Three months on, shopkeepers and neighbours report no trouble, and about 135 volunteers now run football training, Dutch lessons and homework help.

The Hague explores driverless buses and trams: The talks surfaced in council answers to D66 questions about innovation in public transport, and cover the lightrail as well. Nothing concrete has been agreed: no trial, no timetable, with routes, suppliers, legislation and RDW approval all unresolved. HTM is already testing self-driving buses near Rotterdam.

Sniffer dogs join drug patrols in Oude Centrum: Police and the city ran several test rounds with the dogs in October, and they flagged parking meters, bins and other street objects where dealers hide drugs. Anything found was seized on the spot. How often the dogs join future checks will be decided from those trials.

Bomenbuurt residents sue property owner over Japanese knotweed: Nine residents of the Hague neighbourhood say a rented garden on Thomsonlaan is the source of a plant that damages drains and foundations. The owner's lawyer disputes that and says a contractor has been hired to clear it. A ruling is expected in two weeks.

Wassenaar defender Kimberley Smit reaches the Champions League: Smit, 27, started at Blauw-Zwart and made her eredivisie debut for ADO Den Haag before studying and playing in the United States for four and a half years. She now anchors the defence of Belgian champion OH Leuven, with matches against Juventus and Chelsea still to come.

Bouke Alkema dressed generations of Hague workers: Bouke Alkema grew up above his parents' workwear shop on the Paul Krugerlaan, opened in 1931, and spent his life kitting out builders, bakers, plumbers and city staff. He sized customers by eye, no fitting needed. He stayed involved with the business until his death at 77.

Broken Hart voor Den Haag bus still unmoved: A green and yellow double-decker was flagged as a car wreck on the Bezuidenhoutseweg in early September, and remains there. The Party for the Animals asks why the city has not towed it. Owner and councillor Jelle Meinesz says it broke down and awaits parts.

Haunted house for children aged six and up: A haunted house walk-through for ages 6 and up, De Vervloekte Lantaarn invites families to follow the cursed lantern through dark rooms on 30 October. 30 October. FAMILY SHOW

Flow, the Oscar-winning animation about a cat in a flooded world: A cat teams up with a capybara, dog, lemur and bird to survive rising water, projected in a rectangle on the Dome. 30 October, 19:00, Museon-Omniversum dometheater. FILM

Ro(c)k, a musical trip round the world for toddlers: Mariska Simon sings in several languages around a skirt that stands in for the globe, and the youngest children join in. 30 October, Theater Dakota. FAMILY SHOW

Free musical story time for babies at the Bomenbuurt library: A picture book arrives with songs, movement and small instruments, and babies and their grown-ups are drawn into the story; registration needed. 30 October, 10:00, Bibliotheek Bomenbuurt. STORY / READING

Music Monkeys songs and instruments for toddlers, free in Transvaalkwartier: Children aged two to four sing, move and handle instruments, mixing familiar Dutch songs with new ones; sign up by email, phone or desk. 30 October, 10:30, Bibliotheek Transvaalkwartier. KIDS WORKSHOP

Tim Burton's Universe by candlelight in the Binnenstad's Grote Kerk: Classical arrangements of music from Edward Scissorhands, Alice in Wonderland and The Nightmare Before Christmas, played in a church lit by candles. 30 October, 20:00, Grote Kerk. CLASSICAL

KaliMba Project at the Holland Gnawa Festival, with workshop and open jam: Moroccan Gnawa trance meets Mandingue music from Casamance on guembri, kora and balafon, with an explanatory workshop first and a jam after. 30 October, 20:15, De Regentes - Ketelhuis. WORLD / FOLK

Vocal jazz from Stella Cole, in a programme called It's Magic: Straight vocal jazz in the concert hall, programmed under that title, for an audience that comes to listen rather than dance. 30 October, Amare Studio, Amare. JAZZ / BLUES

Brahms's German Requiem for choir, soloists, piano and timpani, in Scheveningen: Mirjam van den Hoek conducts this anniversary performance of Ein deutsches Requiem, with soprano Yun Park, baritone Benjamin Sattlecker and a drink afterwards. 30 October, 20:15, Nieuwe Badkapel. CLASSICAL

Folk-americana from Den Haag: Yellofox release The Secret of Being Kind: The band's new album gets its first live outing in the small hall, with Fenster opening and invited guest musicians sitting in. 30 October, 20:00, PAARD, Kleine Zaal. POP / ROCK

Hondenfokker, Quatsch and DJ Kipkillah for a night of electro punk: Sharp guitar riffs, chaotic beats and analogue synth bass from a trio working between rave and wreckage, with shouted support and a DJ after. 30 October, 20:30, Musicon. ELECTRONIC / DANCE

Peruvian Food Festival, ninth edition, with buffet and ceviche workshop: A buffet of traditional dishes, a live Peruvian band and a make your own ceviche session, with chef Luis Rojas cooking. 30 October, 18:00, Hilton The Hague - BlueBlood. FESTIVALS

Romero's Night of the Living Dead, plus a Halloween menu beforehand: The cult 1968 zombie debut, with tteokbokki, kimchi pancake and pumpkin ice cream from the kitchen if you book a table first. 30 October, 19:30, Het Nieuwe Regime. FILM

20 Perspectives closes with live music, tours and a tessellation workshop: Museum stays open late for guided tours of the Escher and Islamic art show, curator conversations and an artist-led tessellation workshop. 30 October, 17:00, Escher in Het Paleis. ART / MUSEUMS

Free screening of Vier Duindagen, the 1983 film about the dunes: Filmmaker Monique van den Broek introduces her record of the turning seasons in Meijendel, made with Jan van den Ende; sign up by email. 30 October, 20:00 - 22:00, Kunstpost. FILM

Seventy-five years of Moluccan migration examined in Loosduinen: Families share stories and explore collective memory seventy-five years after the first Moluccans arrived in the Netherlands. 30 October, 10:30 - 12:00, Bibliotheek Loosduinen. TALKS / IDEAS

Raoel Fatehmahomed's second stand-up show, on roots and identity, in Dutch: Jokes alternate with more vulnerable moments about where he comes from, cultural difference and identity; the show, Rode Draad, is Dutch-spoken. 30 October, 20:00, Theater de Vaillant. THEATER

English subtitles for Franz, Agnieszka Holland's film about young Kafka: Kafka juggles literature, daily duties and tuberculosis as the First World War nears; spoken in Czech, German, English and Polish. 30 October, 16:00, Filmhuis Den Haag: Studio B. FILM

Mix medieval herbal teas and salves at Mariahoeve: Participants blend their own culinary salts, scented salves, and medicinal teas using historical recipes from antiquity. 30 October, 13:30 - 15:00, Bibliotheek Mariahoeve. WORKSHOP

Pop quiz at Paardcafé, free, with teams of up to five: Robin Dirksen and Remco van der Ham of HITSTRIJD ask the questions in Dutch, and teams register their five players by email. 30 October, PAARD, Kleine Zaal. GAMES / HOBBIES

Walk four kilometres through the city on the Rondje Zachtheid: Jeanine leads this last-Friday-of-the-month loop, roughly forty-five minutes on foot, setting off from the supermarket inside the station hall. 30 October, 19:30 - 20:15, Den Haag, Centraal Station. TOUR

48GMDH Analog Photo Contest hands out film rolls and a secret theme: You collect a roll of film, shoot to an unknown theme within forty-eight hours, then hand it in by 2 November for judging. 30 October, 18:30, Analog Film Lab by Foto Americaine. GAMES / HOBBIES

Six vegetarian courses to share at the Kookgalerie Halloween dinner: A lunchroom on Noordeinde turns over to shared plates, a small art show and guests in costume, whether simple or elaborate. 30 October, 19:00, Sam Sam. TASTING

Coworking, a free workshop and expert desks at Changemakers' Friday, in English: People building social-impact projects start with introductions, sit in on a ninety-minute workshop, then share desks with fundraising, technical and impact advisers. 30 October, 09:00 - 17:00, The Hague Humanity Hub. NETWORKING

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