De Betovering turns The Hague into a city of theatre for young audiences
The international arts festival for children offers performances and workshops at dozens of venues until Sunday.
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Festival De Betovering began in The Hague on Saturday. The international youth theatre festival runs until 25 October and brings performances, workshops and arts activities to dozens of venues in and around the city.
De Betovering offers performances and workshops for children. According to the festival organisers, activities are taking place at about 65 venues in The Hague and the surrounding area.
The festival aims to make art accessible beyond the traditional theatre auditorium. Alongside professional performances, there are activities in libraries, museums, community centres and squares. This means the event is aimed not only at visitors who already regularly attend the theatre.
The 2026 edition lasts nine days. The programme includes performances for young children, family productions and activities in which children create or perform themselves. Some of the programme has sold out, while tickets are still available for other events.
The organisers present De Betovering as an international festival. The programme consists of Dutch and foreign productions, as well as projects developed with institutions in The Hague and young artists.
The festival's cultural significance therefore lies not only in the number of performances. The event also serves as an introduction to the performing arts for children who remain in the city during the school holiday. For cultural institutions, it also offers a way to reach new audiences.
The edition takes place during a period when many families divide their free time between cultural activities, sport and childcare. The broad distribution across the city is intended to lower the threshold, but for some performances visitors still depend on ticket sales and accessibility. The festival runs until Sunday 25 October.
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Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The factual festival information has been checked against information from the organisers and an independent listings guide. Claims about reach or impact have been worded cautiously.
- confirmed De Betovering runs from 17 to 25 October 2026. — The festival organisers and Theater.nl list the same period. source
- confirmed The festival takes place at dozens of venues in and around The Hague. — The organisers cite about 65 venues. source
- confirmed The programme includes performances and workshops for children. — Description of the official programme. source
Editor's note
The duration, location and scale come from the festival organisers and an independent theatre listings guide. Visitor numbers and artistic impact have not been established.Sources
- Festival De Betovering returns from 17 to 25 October — De Betovering
- Over De Betovering — De Betovering
- Jeugdtheaterfestival De Betovering 2026 — Theater.nl
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „de betovering”
- AD — „de betovering”
- de Volkskrant — „de betovering”