This is my fourth year working for the Embassy Festival. We've been growing and growing in size every year. Last year, nearly 70 embassies participated and this year was supposed to be a record-breaking year. Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus, we couldn't welcome the tens of thousands of visitors to the Lange Voorhout like before, so we've created an online experience for them. For me personally, it's also been a learning experience. I've never learned more about live-streaming events and with the team we've set up a webshop in which we're selling boxes filled with products from around the world. I'm also very grateful that I've been asked to interview lots of ambassadors for the platform. I've spoken to the ambassadors of Palestine, Chile, Republic of Moldova, Finland, South Africa, Azerbaijan, Rwanda and there are more to come. Below you will find the press-release we sent out with an explanation of the 2020 edition of the Embassy Festival. I would love it if you would take a look at our new website and travel the world with us, from the comfort of your home.
Travelling the world, getting to know other cultures and countries tasting different foods and embracing the unknown. This year, visitors of the Embassy Festival can experience this all online with a brand-new corona-proof online festival. In previous years, tens of thousands of cultural enthusiasts would flock to the festival in The Hague and hop from one country to the next. This year, large public gatherings aren’t possible due to the Coronavirus. That’s why this year’s online edition and Embassy Festival Box will bring the festival to living rooms all over the country and beyond. Explore modern dance at the Polish Embassy, try Chilean wine, watch a cooking demonstration where you learn to make traditional Palestinian ‘Makloubeh’ or join in with the Embassy Festival live pub quiz. But there’s more. Purchase an exclusive Embassy Festival Surprise Box, with 5 products from 5 different countries, and explore products and flavours from all over the world. To top it off, an Embassy Festival recipe booklet will be released with traditional dishes from participating embassies. “I’m so very pleased that the Embassy Festival will continue online this year. The Embassy Festival is one of the main events for us. We were all so sad when we thought it wasn’t going to happen at all this year. So I was so pleased when I heard about the alternative plan. This is important work and it lifts spirits in a tremendous way.” – Head of Mission State of Palestine Ruwan Sulaiman
Online Festival While the majority of festival content will be released during the original festival weekend (5 and 6 September),fresh content will be offered regularly in the weeks leading up to the festival. Getting to dive into other cultures and countries has never been easier. More information about the live programme on 5 and 6 September will be released at a later date. “We truly hope visitors will be surprised and delighted by what we’ve created and that we’ll see lots of photos and videos from our community participating from the comfort of their home. The Embassy Festival is nothing without its community and we’ve seen and experienced their curiosity, spirit and overwhelming support every year and we hope that we get to meet them online this year.” – Festival Director Carly Dutton
ravelling the world, getting to know other cultures and countries tasting different foods and embracing the unknown. This year, visitors of the Embassy Festival can experience this all online with a brand-new corona-proof online festival. In previous years, tens of thousands of cultural enthusiasts would flock to the festival in The Hague and hop from one country to the next. This year, large public gatherings aren’t possible due to the Coronavirus. That’s why this year’s online edition and Embassy Festival Box will bring the festival to living rooms all over the country and beyond. Explore modern dance at the Polish Embassy, try Chilean wine, watch a cooking demonstration where you learn to make traditional Palestinian ‘Makloubeh’ or join in with the Embassy Festival live pub quiz. But there’s more. Purchase an exclusive Embassy Festival Surprise Box, with 5 products from 5 different countries, and explore products and flavours from all over the world. To top it off, an Embassy Festival recipe booklet will be released with traditional dishes from participating embassies. “I’m so very pleased that the Embassy Festival will continue online this year. The Embassy Festival is one of the main events for us. We were all so sad when we thought it wasn’t going to happen at all this year. So I was so pleased when I heard about the alternative plan. This is important work and it lifts spirits in a tremendous way.” – Head of Mission State of Palestine Ruwan Sulaiman
Online Festival While the majority of festival content will be released during the original festival weekend (4 and 5 September),fresh content will be offered regularly in the weeks leading up to the festival. Getting to dive into other cultures and countries has never been easier. More information about the live programme on 4 and 5 September will be released at a later date. “We truly hope visitors will be surprised and delighted by what we’ve created and that we’ll see lots of photos and videos from our community participating from the comfort of their home. The Embassy Festival is nothing without its community and we’ve seen and experienced their curiosity, spirit and overwhelming support every year and we hope that we get to meet them online this year.” – Festival Director Carly Dutton
Embassy Festival Surprise Box and Recipe Booklet
Traditional Mexican ‘Tortillero De Paja’, Rwandan coffee, Chilean olive oil or wine from Azerbaijan, anyone? It’s all part of the brand-new Embassy Festival Surprise Box, available to order from August. The surprise box will be filled with treats from all over the world, and will always include a minimum of 5 different products from 5 different countries. In addition to that, people that buy the box will also find an exclusive recipe booklet in the box, filled with traditional and signature dishes, selected by the participating Embassies.
About the Embassy Festival
Every year, the Embassy Festival has created a wave of global culture, at the Lange Voorhout in The Hague. The annual festival has grown from 5 embassies in 2013 to 67 in 2019. Tens of thousands of visitors Tempt their senses through an exploration of international music, cuisine and culture in a varied, free of charge programme that delights and entertains audiences of all ages. An innovative programme featuring pop, jazz, folk and classical music, as well as culinary delights, theatre, literature, art and activities spanning all corners of the globe. This year, the Embassy Festival will continue online, due to restrictions related to the Coronavirus.
The Embassy Festival is organised in close cooperation with the Municipality of The Hague and the city’s many embassies, spotlighting the different cultures that reside in the Dutch administrative capital.