2026 in the Netherlands

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2026 History of the Netherlands

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Events from the year 2026 in the Netherlands.

Incumbents

• Monarch: Willem-Alexander
• Prime Minister: Dick Schoof (until 23 February); Rob Jetten (since 23 February)

Events

January

• 1 January –
  • During the night of New Year's Day, a fire razes the Vondelkerk church tower in Amsterdam. ^[1]
  • New Year's celebrations lead to widespread disorder nationwide, with petrol bombs thrown at police in Breda and 14 people sustaining eye injuries in Rotterdam. Two men are killed in fireworks incidents in Nijmegen and Aalsmeer. ^[2]
• 2–9 January –
  • Severe winter weather bring snow and ice across much of the country, prompting KNMI code orange warnings for dangerous travel conditions and causing widespread disruption to transport nationwide. ^{[3] [4]}
  • At Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, hundreds of flights are cancelled over several days due to snow-covered runways and deicing constraints, including around 450 cancellations on 5 January alone. ^{[4] [5]}
  • NS services are affected by weather conditions and temporarily shut down on 6 January after snow and frozen railroad switches make operations unsafe, with services gradually resuming later that day. ^[4]
• 8–9 January – Storm Goretti brings strong wind gusts across the country and causes heavy snow in the provinces of Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe and on the West Frisian Islands. ^[6]
• 15 January – Four people are injured in an explosion that destroys several buildings in the historic centre of Utrecht. ^[7]
• 20 January – Seven members of the House of Representatives led by Gidi Markuszower defect from the PVV and announce their intention to form an independent bloc. ^[8]
• 27 January – The Overijssel District Court sentences an Eritrean national to 20 years' imprisonment for leading a criminal network that trafficked migrants across the Mediterranean from Libya and subjected them to abuse and extortion upon arrival in the Netherlands. ^[9]

February

• 6 February – The Netherlands returns a 3,500-year-old Ancient Egyptian sculpture to Egypt after a Dutch investigation confirmed the artefact, which surfaced at an art fair in Maastricht, had been looted and unlawfully removed during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. ^[10]
• 6–22 February – Netherlands at the 2026 Winter Olympics
• 23 February – Rob Jetten is inaugurated as prime minister. ^[11]
• 5 March – The Royal Netherlands Navy is joining the European naval task force in defending Cyprus against Iranian missile strikes. ^[12]

Predicted and scheduled

• 5–8 March – 2025 World Allround Speed Skating Championships at Thialf in Heerenveen. ^[13]
• March – 2026 Dutch municipal elections
• 14–30 August – 2026 Mens and Women's FIH Hockey World Cup in Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands. ^{[14] [15]}

Holidays

Further information: Public holidays in Netherlands

Source: ^[16]

• 1 January – New Year's Day
• 3 April – Good Friday
• 5 April – Easter Sunday
• 6 April – Easter Monday
• 27 April – King's Day
• 5 May – Liberation Day
• 14 May – Ascension Day
• 24–25 June – Pentecost
• 25 December – Christmas Day
• 26 December – Boxing Day

Arts and entertainment

Television

Main article: 2026 in Dutch television

Deaths

• 5 January –
  • Ad van Kempen, 81, actor ( 1-900 , 'n Beetje Verliefd, Winter in Wartime ). ^[17]
  • Elsje de Wijn, 82, actress ( Frank en Eva, For a Lost Soldier , Baantjer ). ^[18]
• 8 January – Astrid Roemer, 78, author. ^[19]
• 11 January – Herman Wouters, 85, politician, mayor of Grobbendonk (1989–1997). ^[20]
• 13 January – Annemarie Prins, 93, actress (Îles flottantes, Code Blue, Accused). ^[21]
• 15 January – Robert Jensen, 52, television and radio presenter. ^[22]
• 11 February – Cees Nooteboom, 92, novelist ( Rituals , The Following Story , All Souls' Day ), poet and journalist. ^[23]
• 14 February – Tom Van der Bruggen, 80, inventor. ^[24]
• 20 February – Femke Boersma, 90, actress ( Het Wonderlijke leven van Willem Parel , Pastorale 1943 ). ^[25]
• 21 February – Koos Postema, 93, radio and television presenter. ^[26]

See also

• 2026 in the European Union
• 2026 in Europe

References

1. "Fire at Vondel Church Amsterdam" (in Dutch). Safety Region Amsterdam-Amstelland. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
2. Leigh, Suzanne (1 January 2026). "Netherlands police face 'unprecedented' New Year's violence". BBC News . Retrieved 1 January 2026.
3. "KNMI - Liveblog code oranje gladheid januari 2026". KNMI. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
4. "Teruglezen: Trucks met vloeistof voor ijsvrij maken vliegtuigen onderweg". NU. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
5. "Mass cancellations at Amsterdam airport as snow and ice wreaks travel chaos". The Independent. 6 January 2026. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
6. "KNMI - Liveblog code oranje gladheid januari 2026". KNMI. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
7. "'Gigantic explosion', fire in Dutch city of Utrecht, four hurt". France 24. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
8. "7 lawmakers quit Geert Wilders' far-right party in stunning setback for Dutch anti-Islam firebrand". AP News. 21 January 2026. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
9. "Dutch court sentences Eritrean man to 20 years for cruel people smuggling". AP News. 27 January 2026. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
10. "Netherlands returns 3,500-year-old looted sculpture to Egypt". Reuters. 6 February 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
11. "New Dutch government sworn in under centrist Jetten". France 24. 23 February 2026. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
12. www.euronews.com https://www.euronews.com/2026/03/05/spain-italy-and-netherlands-join-european-naval-deployment-to-cyprus . Retrieved 5 March 2026.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
14. Iveson, Ali (3 November 2022). "Netherlands and Belgium to hold combined Hockey World Cups in 2026". inside the games. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
15. Alice Devilez (3 November 2022). "La Belgique accueillera le Mondial de hockey 2026 avec les Pays-Bas". rtbf.be. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
16. "Netherlands Public Holidays 2026". Public Holidays Global. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
17. "Acteur Ad van Kempen overleden op 81-jarige leeftijd". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 January 2026.
18. "Karel-zangeres Elsje de Wijn overleden op 82-jarige leeftijd". NU. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
19. "Schrijfster Astrid Roemer overleden". Starnieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 January 2026.
20. "Oud-burgemeester van Grobbendonk Herman Wouters overleden in ziekenhuis: "Iedereen kende hem als 'den Herman'"". GVA (in Flemish). 11 January 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
21. "Actrice en regisseur Annemarie Prins op 93-jarige leeftijd overleden". NU. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
22. "Presentator Robert Jensen (52) overleden". NU. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
23. "Cees Nooteboom (92) overleden: een groot schrijver die genres en continenten doorkruiste". Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 February 2026.
24. "Dutch inventor of hit game 'Kapla' dead at 80: family". France 24. 17 February 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
25. Redactie (20 February 2026). "Femke Boersma overleden". Spreekbuis.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 February 2026.
26. "Tv-presentator Koos Postema (93) overleden: 'Een losse en ongedwongen geest'". AD. Retrieved 23 February 2026.

External links

• Online calendar