The Hague can rightly be called a festival city. But what are the typical Hague Festivals? Grab your agenda and get inspired!
This overview is constantly being supplemented and adapted.
January
Unox New Year's Dive Scheveningen
Start the new year fresh with a dip in the cold North Sea water on the Scheveningen coast near De Pier and the Kurhaus.
Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival
Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival brings over a hundred writers, poets, spoken word artists and musicians to The Hague.
February
Grauzone Festival
Grauzone Festival presents a diverse and innovative program in which music, film and art complement each other spread over 4 locations in the center of The Hague.
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year will again be celebrated in grand style in the centre of The Hague. Throughout the day, there will be parties in the Atrium The Hague of the City Hall and in Chinatown.
Winter Nights Festival
Winternachten festival gives the floor to writers and poets about contemporary issues. Conversations, prose, poetry, spoken word and films are presented during the international literature festival. More than 80 national and international authors will come to The Hague.
March
Movies that Matter Festival
Movies that Matter Festival in The Hague is the international film and debate festival in the Netherlands. Every year, the festival presents a varied program of about seventy feature films and documentaries on human rights in Filmhuis Den Haag and Theater aan het Spui. Many films can be seen in the Netherlands for the first time, and only at this festival.
NN CPC Run The Hague
The City-Pier-City Loop has been an annual running event in The Hague since 1975, with different distances for young and old.
April
Rewire Festival
Rewire is the annual international festival for progressive 'innovative' music. A program has been put together with a focus on the artistic vanguard in electronic music, new jazz, experimental pop, sound art and modern composed music.
The Life I Live
The Life I Live in The Hague, the successor to the KoninginneNach in The Hague, will transform the city center into a free festival site on April 26, where quality music predominates.
May
Liberation Festival
Throughout the Netherlands, freedom is celebrated on May 5th during Liberation Day: the Liberation Festival takes place in fourteen cities. In The Hague, the Liberation Festival is celebrated on the Malieveld.
Holland Dance Festival and CaDance
The two major dance festivals are held every other year. One year is the leading Holland Dance Festival, the largest international dance festival in the Netherlands. The other year is CaDance, the premiere festival with work by young choreographers.
Sniester Festival
Sniester will be able to experience more than 70 bands in 2 days on & around the Grote Markt and Paard in the Hague's Pop district, the musical heart of the city. From emerging to established, local to international and from electronic indie to ripping guitars. No crush barriers, no big names for the sake of the big names - Sniester is real action and real love for real music.
North Sea Regatta
The annual sailing event "North Sea Regatta" is all about the well-known Vuurschip race from Scheveningen to Harwich and the North Sea Race back. After the Vuurschiprace and North Sea Race, there is some time to catch your breath and to put the ship back in order so that you can then participate in the battlefield off the coast: North Sea Regatta inshore.
Haagse Wereldhapjes (cancelled)
From 26 to 29 May, Haagse Wereldhapjes will be ready to treat The Hague to a few festive and gastronomic days. The Pentecost weekend is all about good food, drinks, music, entertainment and above all fun!
June
Kaderock
KadeRock is a pop festival that is celebrated every year on the first Saturday of June at Muziekcafé Musicon on Soestdijksekade in The Hague. KadeRock is known as small-scale but big.
The Crave Festival
Fat dance event with various music styles in the Zuiderpark. The festival, aimed at electronic music, transforms the Zuiderpark into a dance mecca, where the best of the international and national scene visits The Hague.
Festival Classique
Festival Classique introduces people to classical music in a surprising and relaxed way. By offering unique performances for visitors from a few months old to well over 80 years old, Festival Classique shows that classical music is fun for everyone!
Hipfest
HipFest is a free pop festival in the heart of Scheveningen with upcoming bands and young talents that you must see!
Flag Day
Flag Day Scheveningen is an event that has been announcing the arrival of the Dutch Nieuwe herring year after year. On this day, this fish species is central. But there is also plenty to experience for non-fish lovers on Vlaggetjesdag in the harbor of Scheveningen with music, orchestras, bands, artists, old sail luggers, miniature ships, round trips and various demonstrations.
Dutch Veterans Day
As a tribute to all veterans, the National Veterans Day Committee organizes the Dutch Veterans Day in The Hague every last Saturday in June
July
Zeeheldenfestival
The annual Zeeheldenfestival once started as a small neighborhood party. This neighborhood party has now grown into a multi-day event on the Prins Hendrikplein with a variety of performances, street theater and activities
De Parade
Ok, not typically The Hague, but at the most beautiful location: the Westbroekpark. In The Hague, the Westbroekpark is transformed every summer into a temporary cultural street with theater tents, fountain tents and even a nostalgic merry-go-round.
August
Milan Summer Festival
Milan Summer Festival is a multicultural festival on the fields of the Zuiderpark. The cross-border festival bridges the atmospheric cultures that our country is rich in, from Dutch to Hindustani, from Caribbean to Indian.
Food Truck Festival TREK
Food Truck Festival TREK turns the Westbroekpark in The Hague into one large open-air restaurant every year. The free food event manages to tickle the taste buds for three days with all kinds of delicacies: from oysters to sausage and from organic fries to vegetarian food.
Jazz in the canal
Jazz in the canal is a super fun music festival in the city center of The Hague. On and around the water along the Bierkade, Dunne Bierkade, Groenewegje, Veenkade and Hooigracht, dozens of jazz artists give free concerts from boats and floating stages. During the music event you can enjoy a snack and a drink at the various cafes and restaurants on the quays.
Hague Art and Antique Days (cancelled)
Under the beautiful trees of the stately Lange Voorhout, the Hague Art and Antiek Days have been organized for 30 years, a concept for art and antique-loving Netherlands.
September
Prince's Day
Prinsjesdag is the traditional start of the parliamentary year for the Senate and House of Representatives in The Hague. On this third Tuesday in September, King Willem-Alexander will deliver a speech from the throne in which the government will announce its most important plans for the coming year. Prior to the reading of the speech from the throne, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will take a tour in the Glass Coach, followed by other important members, from Noordeinde Palace via Lange Voorhout to the Binnenhof. Due to the renovation of the Binnehof, the route is not yet known.Prior to this festive day, the Prinsjesfestival will be organized with, among other things, the PrinsjesHoedenwalk to the spectacular beach exercise of the Cavalry Honorary Escort in Scheveningen.
International Kite Festival (cancelled)
Kite Festival Scheveningen is the largest international kite event in the Netherlands. During the Scheveningen Kite Festival, to the south (left) of De Pier, the most special kites from all over the world can be admired. There are also various workshops for children during the kite festival.
Oktober
ART THE HAGUE
An idiosyncratic fair for contemporary art in the Fokker Terminal.
Festival The Enchantment
De Betovering is the international art festival for young people with dazzling performances and workshops at more than 55 locations in and outside The Hague.
November
Crossing Border Festival
Crossing Border is the festival that focuses on the combination of literature, music, film and visual arts.
December
Royal Christmas Fair
Christmas market in The Hague! The Royal Christmas Fair on the Lange Voorhout is one of the largest and nicest Christmas markets in the Netherlands.
Cool Event Scheveningen
Every year, the seaside resort of Scheveningen in The Hague is again the place for the ultimate winter sports experience by the sea. The Kurhausplein is home to an indoor ice rink of no less than 600 m2.
Scheveningen Light Walk
The Scheveningen Light Walk is the best walking event in the dark and cozy winter month. Thousands of sporty walkers put on their walking shoes and walk 7, 12 or 18 km through magically lit Scheveningen.