DutchBuzz is an English radio programme of news, views and interviews that tells you what’s happening in this buzzing city of ours. The international team of presenters and reporters are from many different continents, but view The Hague as their home!
Listen live weekly on a Thursday from 7-8pm on Den Haag FM:
After broadcasts, links to the recordings will be shared here.
Thursday 3 September 2026
Dutchbuzz is back after the summer break with news about: • What’s happening in The Hague • A new wine tasting venue on the Prinsesstraat • And, local author Michael Hasted tells us about opening an English book shop in the south of France.
In this week’s Dutchbuzz: • We take a look at the renovated boulevard in Scheveningen • Visit the ‘London Calling’ exhibition at the Kunstmuseum, • And feature local writing talent
Headlines and recording link will be added here when available
Thursday 24 September 2026
Headlines and recording link will be added here when available
The Hague’s Pearls – listen to previous recordings
The podcasts below are devoted to members of the international community who have made a special contribution to the City of The Hague.
The DutchBuzz team takes pleasure in inviting and interviewing the city’s many ‘pearls’. Many of them have been featured in our programmes over the years because they reflect our rich and diverse international community.
Newsmakers, writers, local politicians, entertainers, innovators, entrepreneurs, experts in their field, and colourful personalities, they all make The Hague a better place to live and work in.
All the interviews have been broadcast, but we enjoyed them so much that we are now sharing them with you as special, celebratory podcasts.
Children will train, run and race together — with and without a running frame
What happens when a child who runs independently and a child who uses a running frame are placed on the same team? They can train together, race together and, above all, experience the joy of belonging together.
This September, a new inclusive athletics initiative is coming to The Hague. Stichting Equal Play and Haag Atletiek are joining forces to create a team where children with and without disabilities can train side by side. The programme will focus on running and relay races, bringing together children who use a running frame and children who do not.
The initiative will be introduced to the public during the Stadsspelen Den Haag on Saturday 19 September, where Stichting Equal Play will host an inclusive athletics workshop. The regular training programme will take place on Saturdays from 10:00 to 11:00 at Haag Atletiek, with children training together as one team.
The aim is simple, but powerful: more opportunities for children to meet, move and make friends through sport — regardless of how they run.
The need for more inclusive spaces is clear. Research published by Dutch charity Stichting het Gehandicapte Kind found that 72% of children without disabilities never arrange to meet or play with a child with a disability, even though 45% say they would like to do so. The same research found that more than one in three children with a disability never visit a playground or meeting place in their own neighbourhood, and more than a quarter of those who do are often there alone.
Sport can be one of the places where those barriers begin to disappear.
Rather than creating separate activities and expecting children to participate in parallel worlds, the new athletics team is built around training together. A relay race is a particularly fitting example: every participant has a role, every participant contributes to the team and everyone moves towards the same finish line.
For some children, a running frame can make running and participation possible. For others, no frame is needed. At Haag Atletiek, those differences will not determine whether children belong to the same team. The intention is for them to train alongside one another, encourage one another and take part together.
The programme is designed for children aged 6 to 12, with and without disabilities. Children can try the training in an inclusive and supportive environment, with the focus not only on athletics, but also on fun, confidence, connection and friendship.
For Stichting Equal Play, that social element is just as important as the sport itself. Inclusive sport is not simply about adapting an activity so that someone can be present. It is about creating genuine opportunities for children to participate together — and to get to know one another as teammates and peers.
The launch also comes at a moment when inclusive relay racing is gaining wider visibility. In the Netherlands, relay formats are increasingly showing what is possible when athletes with and without a running frame compete and participate together. The new initiative at Haag Atletiek brings that same idea closer to home for children in The Hague.
Families will be able to discover the initiative during the Stadsspelen Den Haag workshop on 19 September. The regular Saturday training sessions will offer a continuing opportunity for children to develop their running skills, practise relay racing and become part of an inclusive team.
For many families, finding a local sports activity where children with different abilities can genuinely participate together can be difficult. This new collaboration aims to offer exactly that: a place where children do not have to fit into a separate category before they can join in.
The message behind the initiative is straightforward: different ways of moving should not mean separate worlds.
Children and families interested in taking part can register through equalplay.nl/aanmelden.
The new inclusive athletics programme is a collaboration between Stichting Equal Play and Haag Atletiek and will be introduced at the Stadsspelen Den Haag on Saturday 19 September, before continuing with regular Saturday morning training sessions.
Because sometimes inclusion does not need a complicated explanation. Sometimes it can start with something as simple — and as meaningful — as handing the baton to a teammate.
Practical information
Workshop: Saturday 19 September 2026, Stadsspelen Den Haag
Regular training: Saturdays, 10:00–11:00
Location: Haag Atletiek, Laan van Poot 353A, 2566 DA The Hague
Age: 6–12 years
For children with and without disabilities, with and without a running frame
As summer slowly makes way for autumn, September brings another varied month of cinema to Pathé. From the return of Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in Practical Magic 2 to the tense true-story drama Pressure and a frightening new take on Resident Evil, there is plenty coming to the big screen.
Beyond the major new releases, September also has plenty for fans of music, classics and more unusual cinema. Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger goes behind the scenes of the long-awaited Oasis reunion, while Pathé’s In the Picture selection puts the spotlight on films including The Incomer and No Good Men.
A number of much-loved films are also returning to cinemas as part of the FAME classics programme, including A Star Is Born, Birdman, Singin’ in the Rain, Cabaret and Bohemian Rhapsody. And for Marvel fans, Avengers: Endgame Encore returns to the big screen later in the month.
Pathé Specials
Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger
Follows the long-awaited Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour, which brought Liam and Noel Gallagher back on stage together after more than sixteen years. The documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of one of the biggest musical comebacks in recent years, with footage from rehearsals, backstage and live performances. The brothers also tell their story together in a joint interview for the first time in more than twenty years.
Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger @2026 Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (NL). All rights reserved.
New top movies at Pathé
Pressure – 10 September
Based on a true story, Pressure follows the extremely stressful 72 hours leading up to D-Day, when decisions had to be made that could change the course of history. The film comes from the producers of the Academy Award-winning Darkest Hour.
Pressure @2026 StudioCanal (BENELUX). All rights reserved.
Practical Magic 2 – 10 September
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as the Owens sisters in Practical Magic 2, once again entering a world of moonlit mystery and powerful ancient magic. The sisters are confronted with the dark curse that threatens to tear their family apart for good, in a new story mixing magic, chaos and humour.
Resident Evil – 17 September
Filmmaker Zach Cregger, known for Weapons and Barbarian, gives the Resident Evil franchise a new and frightening direction. The film follows Bryan, played by Austin Abrams, a medical courier whose ordinary night suddenly turns into a nightmare and a spectacular fight for survival. Also available in formats including Dolby, Atmos, ScreenX, IMAX and 4DX at participating cinemas.
Resident Evil @2026 UPI/Sony (NL). All rights reserved.
In the Picture
Pathé’s In the Picture label focuses on distinctive and compelling films that sit somewhere between mainstream cinema and the traditional film-house programme.
The Incomer – 10 September
On a remote Scottish island, a brother and sister survive by catching seabirds, telling stories about their ancestors and defending their home against feared outsiders. Their isolated world is disrupted when an awkward local government official arrives to remove them from the place where they were born.
No Good Men – 17 September
Set in Afghanistan in 2021, shortly before the Taliban returns to power, No Good Men follows Naru, the only female camera operator at Kabul’s leading television station. While fighting to retain custody of her three-year-old son, she is offered a new professional opportunity by Qodrat, one of Kabul TV’s leading journalists. As they travel through the city reporting on the final days of freedom, their relationship develops and Naru begins questioning some of her assumptions about the men around her.
FAME: classics return to the big screen
September is also FAME month at Pathé, bringing a selection of well-known films back to cinemas.
The programme includes:
Boogie Nights – from 27 August
Black Swan – from 27 August
A Star Is Born – from 3 September
Almost Famous – from 3 September
Birdman – from 10 September
Singin’ in the Rain – from 17 September
Sing (NL) – from 20 September
Cabaret – from 24 September
Bohemian Rhapsody – from 24 September
A Star Is Born – 3 September
Experienced musician Jackson Maine discovers struggling singer Ally and falls in love with her. Ally has almost given up on her dream of becoming a singer when Jack brings her onto the stage. As Ally’s career begins to take off, however, their personal relationship starts to struggle as Jack battles his own demons.
Avengers: Endgame Encore – 23 September
Marvel fans will also have another opportunity to experience Avengers: Endgame on the big screen. Following the events of Infinity War, the surviving Avengers join forces with Ant-Man and Captain Marvel in an attempt to defeat Thanos and reverse the destruction caused by the Infinity Stones. The Encore release will be shown in formats including Dolby, Atmos, ScreenX, IMAX and 4DX at participating locations.
Pathé Thuis
There are also new releases to watch at home through Pathé Thuis during September, including Minions & Monsters, a new chapter in Illumination’s animated Despicable Me universe.
Release dates and screenings may change, so check Pathé directly for the latest programme, participating cinemas and tickets.
Pathé is the first and largest cinema brand in the Netherlands, founded in Paris in 1896 by true pioneers of film: the Pathé brothers. Their aim was to share the wonderful world of film with as many people as possible. Throughout the Netherlands, Pathé has 30 locations, 253 screens and 1,900 employees. Through its wide range of films, livestreams of opera, sports and gaming, among others, the latest techniques such as IMAX, 4DX, Dolby Cinema and ScreenX, and business events, Pathé creates special and unforgettable cinema stories for all.
Disclaimer& Copyright notice
Pathé is a partner of The Hague Online, and we receive cinema tickets in exchange for sharing monthly updates and links on our website and in our enewsletter. Text is provided by Pathé in Dutch and translated into English by The Hague Online. Images are provided by Pathé. Text and images may not be copied and shared without written permission.
Venue provided complimentary food and drinks during Sherika’s visit for this feature. The Hague Online retained editorial control, and the views expressed are the writer’s own
When I first visited The Story Café and Concept Store shortly after it opened, I wrote about the sense of warmth you feel the moment you walk in — the hand-painted walls, the encouraging words on every table, the smell of soup and baking that makes you slow down. But on a second visit, I found something more. Behind the beautiful surface of this café is a woman with a very clear philosophy, and the more time you spend here, the more you understand it.
Meryem Hammiche is, depending on when you catch her, a dietician, a mental health coach and a wellness instructor. “I want people to feel good when they leave here, to also know they have a space where they feel comfortable” she tells me.
Nowhere is this philosophy more evident than in the café’s expanding range of sugar-free bakes and sweet treats. Not “good for sugar-free,” just good. Rich, satisfying banana bread that is paired with mascarpone and chia seed jam and the simple yet light, poppyseed cake which make for a gezellig afternoon treat that is good for mind and body.
But more than just food, tucked into corners and along shelves are beautiful small objects — candles, stationery, interior pieces, handmade cards — all from independent makers and small business owners that Meryem has chosen to platform. The idea is simple: if you’re a small business owner with a well-made product and nowhere to show it, you can reach out to Meryem and she will find a place for it here. It’s a living, rotating shop floor inside a café — and it means that every visit feels slightly different, slightly new. For the makers involved, it’s a chance to get their work in front of the steady stream of locals and regulars who call The Storycafe their own.
The newest addition to The Story Cafe’s offering is one I’m particularly excited about: art workshops, for both children and adults. Given everything else Meryem has built here — the mental health coaching background, the community-first ethos, the café as living room — it makes complete sense. Creative expression, she believes, is another form of nourishment. A way of processing, connecting, and showing up for yourself.
Whether you’re a parent looking for something meaningful for your child on a weekend, or an adult who has been meaning to pick up a brush for years and never quite managed it, this feels like exactly the kind of low-stakes, warm-environment way to start. Details on upcoming sessions are on their Instagram — and given how quickly things tend to fill up at places like this, it’s worth following sooner rather than later. Also on the calendar is a dog-friendly event — imagine a space where your furry friend is truly welcomed and the two of you can enjoy it together.
What strikes me most about The Story Cafe, on this second visit, is how rare it is. It’s easy to open a café. It’s much harder to build something with a genuine point of view — a place where the food, the space, the community and the programming all point in the same direction. Meryem has done that. And The Hague is better for it.
The Story Café and Concept Store is open seven days a week on Appelstraat 175. Small business owners interested in featuring their products in the concept store space can reach out via Instagram. Art workshops for children and adults, dog parties and more are coming soon — follow them so you don’t miss out.
Do you have a story about your own café, restaurant or bar in the city? Reach out to sherika@thehagueonline.com to possibly be featured.
Sherika Rooplal-Clappers is a contributing writer for The Hague Online, covering culture, lifestyle, and local events. With a passion for storytelling and international perspectives, she highlights the people, places, and experiences that make The Hague a dynamic city.
In ACCESS Stories this month, Maryam Mollaei reflects on her first months in the Netherlands after moving from Iran, and the unexpected emotional and practical challenges of becoming a newcomer again. From navigating unfamiliar systems to rebuilding her professional and social identity, she discovered that finding a sense of home was less about paperwork or place, and more about the people around her. Through friendships, shared meals, conversations and new connections, the Netherlands gradually began to feel less like a destination and more like a community.
ACCESS is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organisation that has supported the international community in the Netherlands since 1986. English-speaking volunteers provide free, independent information and guidance on living, working and settling in the Netherlands, via a helpdesk, email support and partnerships across the country.
Venue provided complimentary food and drinks during Sherika’s visit for this feature. The Hague Online retained editorial control, and the views expressed are the writer’s own
Say “Indian food” to most people in the West, and a familiar picture comes to mind: takeout containers, a lot of oil, and a spice level that’s either “mild” or “regret.” It’s cheap, it’s convenient, and — the assumption goes — it’s basically all the same, just curry in different colours.
It couldn’t be further from the truth.
India isn’t one cuisine. It’s thousands of them. The country splits into broad geographic zones — north, south, east, west, and the northeast — and each one cooks with entirely different staple grains, techniques, and flavour profiles shaped by its own climate, history, and culture. Kashmiri rogan josh and Chennai-style chicken Madras have about as much in common as a Neapolitan pizza and a Swedish meatball — they’re both “Indian food” the way both those dishes are “European food,” which is to say, technically true and practically meaningless. Travel across the country and the menu changes completely: steamed momo (dumplings) in the northeast, pork with fermented soybean, tangy tamarind-and-coconut curries down south, delicate mustard-and-fish dishes in the east. It’s a tapestry, not a single dish repeated in different sauces.
This is exactly the reputation Vinoth Govind is working to change from his restaurant, Mad’Ras, on Piet Heinstraat. Walk into Mad’Ras and the first thing you notice is that it doesn’t look like most Indian restaurants you’ve been to. Blue ceramic plates are lined precisely along the tables, copper wine goblets catch the light behind the bar. It reads more like fine dining than the casual spots the cuisine usually gets slotted into — and that’s deliberate.
Vinoth never trained formally as a chef. He was, in his own words, always a foodie. While he grew up in Chennai, he visited his grandparents who had a small farm in Tamilnadu, where feeding anyone who walked through the door wasn’t optional, it was the rule. “If you weren’t going to eat here, don’t bother coming,” his grandparents used to say. That ethic of hospitality followed him into a corporate HR career, one that took him and his wife through Singapore, the Philippines, and other parts of Asia before they eventually settled in The Hague in 2022.
But HR is not the industry for someone who believes food is love. Vinoth spent years on the exhausting, emptying task of laying off hundreds of people at a time, and at some point the pull back toward the kitchen got too loud to ignore. He’d already opened restaurants before, in other countries, each time leaving behind a piece of his heart along with the business. He wasn’t planning on starting another one when his wife’s job brought them to the Netherlands. Then he got lost on a walk one day and stumbled onto Piet Heinstraat.
There, he struck up a friendship with Clarence, owner of the café then known as Bij Clarence, and found himself pulled back into the food world almost by accident. A space on the street had just come free — previously home to a Brazilian fusion restaurant run by João Proença — and after six months of work, it became Mad’Ras.
Vinoth is quick to credit the neighbourhood for what came next. Plenty of people doubted a new restaurant could survive in that spot; others had tried and closed before him. But Clarence and João, along with the wider street community, backed him from day one. He now counts them as family, and it’s part of why The Hague, a city he arrived in almost by chance, has stayed close to his heart.
Mad’Ras keeps its menu tight, but each dish carries its own regional identity rather than blending into one generic “Indian” flavour. The lamb rogan josh — Vinoth’s personal favourite — carries a rich, warming character, and the tandoori prawns arrive smoky and char-kissed, in the northern tradition. And the chicken Madras brings the fire and depth of the south.
Crucially, none of it has been dialled down for a Dutch palate. What lands on your table is what you’d be served in Chennai or Kashmir itself — spice included. That said, if heat isn’t your thing, there’s still plenty on the menu to give you an honest taste of the cuisine without watering it down into something unrecognisable. You will also find some iems unique to Mad’Ras, such as the truffle naan which was inspired by Vinoth’s 13 year old daughter – a combination I had doubts about as truffle is often overused in most restaurants or of poor quality – yet paired with dishes like the butter chicken, it was sensational.
Behind that consistency is a kitchen team of four, all trained in five-star hotels across India, and it shows in the precision of every plate. The drinks list carries the same care. The Mad’Ras Tadka cocktail — gin or whisky, lime, sugar, ginger ale, and chaat masala — is light and refreshing, built to stand up against the spiced food rather than disappear next to it. Vinoth’s own love of wine shows up here too, with bottles sourced from further afield than you’d expect, including Georgia and Lebanon, rounding out a drinks menu as considered as the food.
Mad’Ras is the kind of place you find yourself wanting to return to — and to bring everyone you know along with you. It’s comfort food, elevated without tipping into pretension, and Vinoth’s hospitality is evident from the moment you walk through the door. If you’ve been carrying around the wrong idea of what Indian food is, this is exactly where to go to have it corrected. I myself, am of South African-Indian heritage and this place tastes like a mothers embrace.
Vinoth has since moved back to India; however, he continues to operate the restaurant with his dedicated team. Soon, a new menu will be unveiled — one I’m eagerly anticipating.
Piet Heinstraat 97, The Hague
Open for dinner only, Tuesday to Sunday
Images: Sherika Rooplal-Clappers
Do you have a story about your own café, restaurant or bar in the city? Reach out to sherika@thehagueonline.com to possibly be featured.
Sherika Rooplal-Clappers is a contributing writer for The Hague Online, covering culture, lifestyle, and local events. With a passion for storytelling and international perspectives, she highlights the people, places, and experiences that make The Hague a dynamic city.
