The Hague

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• The Hague (with capital T; Dutch: Den Haag, officially also 's-Gravenhage) is the third largest city in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 (as of May 31, 2009) (population of agglomeration: 1,011,459)[1] and an area of approximately 100 km². It is located in the west of the country, in the province of South Holland, of which it is also the provincial capital. The Hague is, like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Almere, part of the Randstad metropolitan area, with 6,659,300 inhabitants. The Hague is the seat of government, but not the capital of the Netherlands, a role set aside by the Dutch constitution for Amsterdam. Annual events January: The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) is the oldest and largest high school United Nations simulation in the world, gathering 4000 students from over 200 secondary schools across the globe. April 29: "KoninginneNach" ("Queen's Night", pronounced with a "plat Haags" accent) is held the night before "Koninginnedag"; there are several open air concerts in the city and young people flock from all over the country to drink and party. It is the largest open air festival in Europe. April 30: "Koninginnedag" ("Queen's Day") is a Dutch national holiday held on the birthday of former Queen Juliana. On this day the colour orange predominates at a funfair (which sells orange cotton candy) and scores of informal street markets. The day is a "vrijmarkt" (literally "free market"), which means no licence is needed for street vending; children traditionally use this day to sell old unwanted toys. May & June: The Tong Tong Fair is one of the largest Eurasian cultural festivals in Europe. It focuses on Indonesian culture. June–September: Den Haag Sculptuur is an open air exhibition of sculptures. The 10th edition, in 2007, celebrated the 400 years of the relationship between the Netherlands and Australia. June: The Hague Jazz festival. June: Vlaggetjesdag in Scheveningen is a festival celebrating the arrival of the first new herring of the year. The last Sunday in June: Parkpop is the largest free open air pop concert in Europe. July: Jazz in de Gracht is an intercultural two-day event hosting Jazz groups which perform their music on flat-bottom boats and in bars in various places between Passantenhaven and Zuidwal. July & August: The city hosts a series of weekly firework displays by the sea front in Scheveningen, as part of an international fireworks festival and competition. July & August is the annual Summer School of The Hague SummerschoolDenHaag.nl, an international summer course for young dancers, initiated by Mirella Simoncini (Green Report) July: "Milan", Europe's biggest Hindustani open air event held in Zuiderpark. The third Tuesday in September: "Prinsjesdag" (literally "Prince's Day") is the Dutch State Opening of Parliament when the Queen reads the "speech from the throne" ("Troonrede"). The day is popular among monarchists and tourists who are out to see Queen Beatrix and the royal family in the Golden State Coach ("de Gouden Koets").
• The description was provided by Asmatullah Niazi