Herring fest - 8th July 2022

The Hague's Scheveningen port was flooded with scores of visitors, joining in the local herring fishing season's opening festival. Dubbed "little flags day," after the tradition of adorning the fishing vessels with small colourful flags, the festival signals the beginning of a successful herring season.

As was the case with so many events, the festival was cancelled for two years due to the global pandemic, but such was the joy at its reinauguration that upwards of 200,000 people attended.

Fishmonger Arthem, revels in the reactions of first timers partaking in the local consumption of raw herring.

Arthem: "Nice day and people are happy. And we are making herring for them, fresh herring, and give it away so that they can taste it. And the fun is, a lot of people who come here never tasted it before and they like it. So, then we have a good day also."

Traditionally preserved in salt before consumption, the herring are paired with shredded onions, before being held above the mouth, and then consumed head to tail.

This is Thilo's first time at the festival.

Thilo: "We're enjoying. We are here from Germany and doing vacation and we heard from this festival here. So, we're coming here. We enjoy it because it's a sunny day and to go out without any mask anything, it's great. We enjoy it."

Marking the first herring catch, the festival has evolved into a major event, drawing hoards of tourists, highlighting the region's deep fishing traditions. Though the festivities last only a few days, the fishing season carries on until September or October, and once the herring have a fat percentage of 16 percent, the following May or June, the festival returns.