Essentially The Hague for Sunday 1 November: First marathon runs today, Escher mural surfaces, Día de Muertos

Sunday November 1, 2026

Good morning, The Hague. Today: the first NN Marathon The Hague passes the Malieveld, an Escher mural lost for decades hangs at Schiphol, and Día de Muertos fills the Grote Markt.

Luna turns her Waldeck garage into fantasy forest: She and her mother Linda have been at it since September: a papier-mache butterfly started in July, handmade mushrooms, trees and a waterfall cut from a shower curtain. The Canta spent a month in the garden to free up space. Children in Waldeck come by Saturday 31 October.

Escher's lost post office mural hangs at Schiphol: Metamorphose III, 48 metres long, hung above the counters at the Kerkplein post office from 1969. TNT Post lent it to Schiphol in January 2008, and it hangs in Lounge 4, past passport control. Seeing it again needs a boarding pass.

Indo friends' monthly table gets its own documentary: A group of Indo men have shared meals at the same restaurant table in the city centre every month for fifteen years, the youngest 77 and the oldest 88. Filmmaker Lara van Leeuwen is recording their friendship, with the film expected in spring 2027.

Population density in The Hague edged down last year: It was the first decline since 2016, after three decades of growth that took the city from about 6,400 residents per square kilometre to nearly 6,900. Within the city the gap stays wide, from almost 22,000 per square kilometre in Oostbroek-Zuid to under 2,000 in Vogelwijk.

Aletta Jacobs statue still missing, nearly ten years on: The city set aside 120,000 euros in 2018 for a monument to Aletta Jacobs, the first Dutch woman at university and the country's first female doctor. The unveiling was planned for May 2019, the women's suffrage centenary. If it appears, it will stand on the Wijnhaven, not the Hofvijver.

Lohmanplein car deck blamed for sushi restaurant collapse: SAV By Poort 1893 closed in spring 2026 and was declared bankrupt on 29 September. Former directors also point to nearby building work, a refused roof terrace permit and the loss of three key staff. The tax office claims over 132,000 euros, fifteen other creditors another 74,000.

ADO Den Haag switches to all-electric team cars: Players and staff collected new electric Volkswagens this week under the club's deal with mobility partner Wittebrug. Solar panels and charging points are already installed at the WerkTalent Stadion, and the new Zuiderpark training ground is being built sustainably with chargers included.

Free Lange Voorhout show traces 60 years of migration: An open-air display of photographs of post-war guest workers from Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Morocco and former Yugoslavia opened on Friday, with mayor Van Zanen speaking. Initiator Sahin Yildirim says their descendants want these stories recorded and taught in schools. The panels stay up until 18 November.

GDA marks 50 years at Madestein sports park: The Loosduinen club left a cramped ground behind the Roman Catholic church on Loosduinse Hoofdstraat, where a single pitch was often unplayable after rain. Members raised the money themselves and moved in October 1976 to three pitches and twelve changing rooms. A sports hall and artificial grass came later.

ANDRS, a colourful future world of music for ages three and up: 4HOOG builds a future world of colour and music rooted in African and diaspora culture, made for children from three upwards. 1 November. FAMILY SHOW

Cello debut, a world premiere and Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony at Amare: Sheku Kanneh-Mason plays Haydn's cello concerto, Jonathan Bloxham conducts, and the evening opens with Amarante Nat's new piece Through Absence. 1 November, 20:15, Amare Studio, Amare. CLASSICAL

Gnawa Parade, a musical procession through the inner city: Musicians from the Gnawa Festival set off from the theatre foyer and play their way through the streets of the old centre. 1 November. WORLD / FOLK

Michael Varekamp & The Legends mark the Miles Davis centenary: The programme marks a hundred years since the birth of Miles Davis, with his music played live by Varekamp's band The Legends. 1 November, 19:00, Amare Studio, Amare. JAZZ / BLUES

English Choral Treasures, madrigals and Purcell from Vox Antiqua: A cappella madrigals by Dowland, Tallis and Morley first, then the Escher Trio joins for Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Handel. 1 November, 15:30, Houtrustkerk. CHOIR / VOCAL

We Will Always Love You, a Dolly Parton tribute with twelve performers: Seven vocalists and a full live band, twelve performers in all, take on Dolly Parton's songbook for the whole evening. 1 November, 20:00, Musicon. WORLD / FOLK

Cheer the first NN Marathon The Hague from the Malieveld: Thousands run 42.195 kilometres through Zuiderpark, Westland villages, Kijkduin and Scheveningen, with shorter races, kids runs and roads closed along the route. 1 November, 08:00 - 15:45, Malieveld. SPORTS

Día de Muertos on the Grote Markt, free entry: Skulls and flowers go up, mariachi bands play, and face painting is on offer; after eleven the square is eighteen and over. 1 November, 19:30 - 23:30, De Zwarte Ruiter. FESTIVALS

Gin-making, pumpkin carving and local cheese at the WIJdehorst autumn market: Local makers bring cheese, jam, bread, wine, ceramics and textiles; children bake bread over a fire, and no Dutch is needed. 1 November, 11:00, Regeneratieve boerderij WIJdehorst. FOOD / MARKETS

Free opening of Heel Nederland Leest, with Herman Koch on Het diner: Ruth Bergmans asks him about Het diner, then audience questions and signing; copies of the book are free from the library. 1 November, 15:00 - 16:30 (inloop 14:30), Centrale Bibliotheek, 1e verdieping, Studio B. TALKS / IDEAS

Forêt Ivre: three women, one mountain hut, English subtitles: Three women take turns running a mountain hut in the French Alps across a year, shot on 16mm, with a discussion afterwards. 1 November, 15:00, Filmhuis Den Haag: Studio B. FILM

Candlelight and poetry for All Souls at Oud Eik en Duinen, free: Poets read for unknown people buried here, you can light a candle at a grave, and the aula has coffee and tea. 1 November, 18:45, Begraafplaats Oud Eik en Duinen. FESTIVALS

Personal memories of photographer Eva Besnyö, told by her daughter in Dutch: Memories of a mother devoted to photography, her struggle to combine that with motherhood, and the collection she left her daughter. 1 November, 14:30, Kunstmuseum Den Haag. TALKS / IDEAS

See A New Blue: The Exoplanet Movie under the Omniversum dome: Twenty-seven minutes of 4K images and animation on the hunt for planets around other stars, narrated in Dutch, advised from nine up. 1 November, 13:00, Museon - Omniversum. FILM

The country's biggest star tasting, 25 chefs in the Grote Kerk: Ten cold dishes, ten warm ones and five desserts, with unlimited drinks, a wine tasting and a reserved table per group. 1 November, 14:00, Grote Kerk. TASTING

An app that draws movement, plus partner improvising, at Kandinsky Lab: You start with improvisation and partner exercises, then turn lines drawn in the app into a short choreography; some movement experience helps. 1 November, 15:00, Another Kind of Blue. WORKSHOP

Bring a team to the pub quiz at de Prael brewery: Teams work through rounds of general knowledge, music questions and themed rounds; the brewery runs one on the first Sunday each month. 1 November, 15:00, Brouwerij de Prael. GAMES / HOBBIES

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