New exhibition shows Spuiplein throughout the years

August 2025, article

Hurrah! We have a completely revamped Spuiplein! To celebrate, Amare has organised a photo exhibition looking back on the history of the square, and we look forward to a wonderful future full of unique events on and around Spuiplein. It is a city square, living room and garden rolled into one – and a new open air performance stage for the city of The Hague.

The exhibition is an initiative by Amare and Het Nationale Theater and shows how the square, at the heart of The Hague, has changed over the years. With historical photographs from the Haags Gemeentearchief and Beeldbank Den Haag, the exhibition compilers, Hans Prins, Isha Plug and Geesje Prins, offer a trip through time. From Spuiplein in 1890 until today!

Buildings come and go but the local residents are a constant factor, and their memories of Spuiplein are also shared in the exhibition. We sense nostalgia for the past, as well as the wish to once again see the square alive with exciting events. You can add your memories and photographs too!

'For me, Spuiplein was like a dance floor full of memories, a vibrant and free space where art, children, coffee and the screeching wheels of skaters blended into a colourful and always lively city spectacle.’

'We made a series of wedding photographs on the stairs leading up to the Dr. Anton Philipszaal.'

'For many years, Spuiplein was the site of our legendary street basketball tournaments with Stichting ST4R. We were pure grassroots, a group of twenty-somethings that just went ahead and did it, with barely any budget, hardly any experience, but a huge love for the game. In the end it became a two-day long manifestation of music, sports, culture and solidarity. It became one of the coolest tournaments in the country, which people still talked about many years after.'

You are warmly invited to view the selection of historical images and memories at Amare’s Kunstenplein from 2 to 15 September.

'My best memories: skating with my very young son, him on double blade skates, with a number of neighbourhood kids and their parents. Such a wonderful atmosphere on a cold Sunday morning on Spuiplein! We’d get something warm to drink and then head back to Prinsegracht, where we lived at the time.'

'I remember the occasional open air film screenings on Spuiplein, in the late 1990s or early noughties. The steps at the square would serve as seating. I think I once saw 'Romeo & Juliet' there with a friend – the new version with Leonardo di Caprio. It was a special experience, since Spuiplein wasn’t exactly meant to serve as open air cinema. But it was rather magical to watch the film outdoors, in the centre of The Hague, with all the lights of the buildings around.’

'During my secondary school years I often hung out at Spuiplein. It was so nice to sit there in the sun, leaning against the glass mirror wall of the Dr. Anton Phillipszaal, watching the skaters do their amazing stuff on the square. Sometimes the fountains would turn on, creating a really fun spectacle.'

'When I see Nieuwe Kerk at Spuiplein, I am often reminded of my childhood experiences as a scout. The Christian scouting group used the church every second Sunday of the month for a church service, drawing attendees from near and far away. One of the elements of the service was the flag ceremony on the square outside the church. I often participated in that. Showing allegiance to the flag and the Queen were important matters to scouting at that time. I can still see a small coat of arms above the entrance doors to Nieuwe Kerk, with the year ‘1649’ elegantly written in black on a gold background – that’s the year when construction of the church began. The flagpole is no longer there, but the coat of arms is.’

What else is there to see at Amare this month? Go to amare.nl/kunst for all the exhibitions.

Zoom in

New Spuiplein

The renewed square will be officially opened as part of the Spotlight Festival on 6 September. At the heart of the city, surrounded by cultural icons such as Amare, Nederlands Dans Theater, Residentie Orkest, Koninklijk Conservatorium, Theater aan het Spui, Nieuwe Kerk and the Filmhuis, a green and lively square has been created. A city square, living room and garden rolled into one – and a new performance stage for The Hague.

From 12 to 14 September, Amare and Het Nationale Theater will for the first time present a performance on the new Spuiplein. In the performance PLEIN by Acteursgroep Wunderbaum, more than 40 Hague residents will reawaken the soul of Spuiplein through music and dance. Then, the square will again bubble and buzz, as in the olden days!

Curious to know what else there’s to do and experience at Spuiplein? Check it out on amare.nl/spuiplein.