Heavy showers and a strong south-westerly wind have delayed the start of Live on the Beach on Scheveningen’s shoreline today. The organisers face a series of decisions that also affect the work of Peter Boelhouwer and his team at DB Evenementen, who are responsible, among other things, for mobility during the event. His phone keeps ringing throughout our conversation at nearby Lemongrass. Whenever Boelhouwer answers, he remains calm yet decisive. “Everything has been thought through, so I don’t get nervous,” laughs the Hague native. “I’ve been doing this for twenty years now, ever since I took over the company from Ferry de Bijl, who founded it in 1989.”

Boelhouwer entered the events world after years working both in the kitchen and front of house in hospitality. “The director of The Hague Hotel School at the time asked me to give training sessions and workshops, which soon grew into small events,” he recalls. “At ADO Den Haag, for example, we developed a hospitality programme that became more comprehensive over time. It was a fantastic learning environment for students, as a stadium brings together every aspect: catering, safety, facilities, traffic and ticketing. “In 2006 I became involved in Ondernemersgala.At first in a modest role as a lecturer at ROC Mondriaan, and from 2008 as organiser under the DB Evenementen banner, which I have since continued together with my wife, Désirée.”

Balance

Since then, Boelhouwer – known as Boelie to colleagues and friends – and his team have left their mark on countless events and productions in The Hague and beyond. The Life I Live, Vlaggetjesdag and the Bevrijdingsfestival Den Haag are only a small selection from DB Evenementen’s extensive résumé. From 2026, the Indisch festival Jalan Pedis will be added to the list.

DB Evenementen produces numerous events and productions, including Vlaggetjesdag.
By Julia de Keijzer

“In The Hague, we are involved in almost everything in one way or another,” he says with satisfaction. “That may be permits or site plans, but also, as with Live on the Beach, the entire site and its styling. Clients can also come to us for full production. Attention, hospitality and expertise are central to what we do, though our services have broadened over time. We really are a jack of all trades.”

He points to Prinsjesdag as an example. “It once started with building a grandstand, but now we help design layouts and consider how emergency services can move as freely as possible in case of incidents.” This safety dynamic is one of Boelhouwer’s passions and places him in various advisory roles. “The Sinterklaas arrival is a huge operation: coming ashore from the sea, a crowd of 35,000 people, the mayor present, and then the procession through the city. Thinking along about that genuinely excites me. How do we find the balance between safety and hospitality? That question runs through everything we do.”

NATO summit

That balance mattered even more when global attention turned to The Hague and Noordwijk during the NATO summit at the World Forum in June 2025. “It was a great honour,” he says. “Our colleague Marcel de Heer led the project. We were hired directly by the police to handle everything related to fencing. The pressure at such moments is immense and focused on emergency scenarios, yet from a hospitality perspective you must also consider what feels pleasant for visitors and residents.“We also contributed by working with as many local people as possible to keep logistics minimal. They arrived by bicycle and did not occupy hotel rooms, which was far more efficient.”

At 49, Boelhouwer is gradually shifting from execution to advisory work. “I try to create space for my team, which now includes my children. It is difficult to let go when your profession is about leaving nothing to chance, but I allow them to take calculated risks. “At the same time, I have complete confidence in our new generation of event professionals. We have a core team of twelve and a flexible network of twenty to thirty people working in their own regions, where they understand local customs. They are also immersed in AI, TikTok and Snapchat. As image and visibility become ever more important because of smartphones, that knowledge is incredibly useful. I learn a lot from them.”

Peter Boelhouwer: “I try to create space for my team, which now includes my children.”

Gen Z

As an employer, he firmly rejects the common claim that Gen Z is fragile.“Last night at eleven I messaged a colleague with an urgent task and she immediately opened her laptop, so that simply isn’t true. But you can no longer expect people to work sixty hours a week without complaint and sacrifice their private lives, as was common in my day. This generation looks differently at wellbeing and sustainability, and rightly so.“It is stressful work, so I try to notice signs of fatigue or when things are not going well at home. I also invest in them by visiting other events together as a community, both for enjoyment and professional insight. In the end, this profession is about schedules and plans, but above all about people.”

A highlight for the team is the fairytale Royal Christmas Fair on the Lange Voorhout.
By Julia de Keijzer

A highlight for the team is the fairytale Royal Christmas Fair on Lange Voorhout, which DB Events has been involved in from the start. “Twenty days of festivities with market stalls, a wide culinary offering and accessible entertainment, including for the business community,” he says. “In the early years the neighbourhood was cautious, but now hotels offer packages and nearby museums have embraced the event. That matters, because when visitors stay longer in the city, everyone benefits.“I always say: if you cannot share, you cannot multiply. That is the real strength of what we do.”

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