3FM Serious Request 2026 in Arnhem: Glazen Huis, visiting and donating

3FM Serious Request 2026 runs from Friday 18 to Thursday 24 December, with the Glazen Huis (Glass House) on the Markt in Arnhem and the money going to the Dutch Burns Foundation, the Nederlandse Brandwonden Stichting. The site around the Glazen Huis is open day and night and free to visit, according to the NPO 3FM FAQ. The DJs, the stage line-up and song requests have not been announced. Last year 3FM named the DJs on 20 October, opened song requests on 23 November and announced the first line-up on 8 December.

Checked 24 October 2026. Not announced yet: the DJs, the line-up and stage times, song requests, the webshop and auction, the TV schedule, and road closures and event parking in Arnhem.

3FM Serious Request 2026: the key dates

The 2026 column only shows what NPO 3FM or the municipality of Arnhem has published. The 2025 column is last year's edition in Den Bosch, the best guide until the new dates are out.

What is 3FM Serious Request?

3FM Serious Request is the yearly fundraiser of the Dutch pop station NPO 3FM, held since 2004 in the week before Christmas, from 18 to 24 December. Its DJs make radio 24 hours a day from the Glazen Huis, a glass studio on a city square, while people across the country raise money for one charity: they donate, pay to have a song played, and run their own fundraisers, from sponsored runs to bake sales. The Glazen Huis moves to a different city every year; in 2026 that is Arnhem.

Beside the studio there is a letterbox where people drop off cash and cheques, and in recent years a stage with free concerts every day. The radio, the presenters and most of the programme are in Dutch, but you don't need Dutch to walk by, watch the DJs through the glass or catch a concert.

Where is the Glazen Huis in 2026?

The Glazen Huis stands on the Markt in Arnhem, in the city centre by the Eusebiuskerk, from Friday 18 to Thursday 24 December 2026 (Gemeente Arnhem). NPO 3FM announced the city and the charity on Thursday 11 June 2026 in a special morning show, driving a 3FM bus from last year's square in Den Bosch to Arnhem (NPO 3FM).

The municipality expects crowds: shops may be harder to reach and decide for themselves whether they open, residents near the Markt can always reach their homes, and road access and closures will be published once the build-up is planned.

Can you visit the Glazen Huis? Opening hours, entry and accessibility

Yes. The event site on the Markt is open 24/7 and entry is free (FAQ). You can watch the DJs through the glass, put cash or a cheque in the donation letterbox and see the concerts on the stage. Bringing a cheque from your own fundraiser? Register it first at the actiehub, a reception desk in a pagoda tent on the square.

What NPO 3FM has published about accessibility so far:

• An accessible viewing deck for wheelchair users, with room for one companion per wheelchair and a folding chair for them. You can't reserve a place, and when it is full it is full.
• The Markt is wheelchair accessible; the best route will be published later.
• The letterbox has wide passages and ramps. If you can't queue for long for medical reasons, email [email protected].
• Accessible toilets, and priority parking spaces near the Glazen Huis (details later).
• A sign language interpreter on the stage every day, also when the interim total is announced.
• No wheelchairs to borrow and no quiet room. The site is busy, with loud music and light effects; free earplugs are at the actiehub.
• Assistance dogs: following the advice of the guide dog foundation KNGF, 3FM says the event is no place for a dog, above all in the evenings when the concerts are on. Email [email protected] if your dog has to come.

If the square gets nearly full, 3FM takes measures for safety. You can always leave; the exits are shown on signs and LED screens.

Serious Request 2026 programme and line-up: who plays?

The 2026 line-up has not been announced. Last year NPO announced more than 30 acts on Monday 8 December 2025, among them Guus Meeuwis, Kensington, La Fuente, Douwe Bob, Claude and K3 (NPO), and published the schedule by day on Tuesday 16 December 2025 (NPO 3FM). The whole programme on the stage was free.

Last year's schedule shows how a day on the Markt works:

• The opening, on Thursday 18 December 2025, started at 16:15, with Bente singing the theme song.
• The evening programme started at about 18:15; the 20:25 slot went to acts such as Kensington, Bazart, Antoon, Pommelien Thijs, Douwe Bob and Claude.
• From 21:46 a themed night followed, such as a student night, a Christmas night, a Brabant night and a dance night, with the last act starting between 22:10 and 22:50.
• On some mornings an act played inside the Glazen Huis at 09:40.
• The finale on Christmas Eve started at 19:25.

There was also a children's afternoon by NPO Zapp, on Friday 19 December 2025 from 14:00 to 15:00, with Kinderen voor Kinderen and acts from the Junior Songfestival (NPO 3FM). Arnhem's side programme for 2026 has not been published.

Which DJs go into the Glazen Huis in 2026?

NPO 3FM will name the 2026 DJs later (FAQ). Last year Barend van Deelen, Sophie Hijlkema and Mart Meijer were locked in, and 3FM named them on Monday 20 October 2025 (NOS). The same three announced the 2026 city and charity in June; 3FM has not said whether they go in again.

Serious Request on TV, radio and online: how to follow it

3FM makes live radio and online content 24 hours a day from 18 to 24 December; the 2026 TV schedule has not been announced. Last year you could follow the Glazen Huis around the clock on NPO 3FM, at 3FM.nl/live, in the NPO Luister app, on NPO Start and on NPO 1 Extra, with a daily update on NPO 1 and a daily live programme on NPO 3 (NPO 3FM). The Social Room next to the Glazen Huis went live on TikTok four times a day, at 10:00, 12:00, 16:00 and 19:00.

When is the interim total, and when is the final total?

3FM announces interim totals, the tussenstand, during the week, with a sign language interpreter on the square. Last year a new total came every evening at about 20:15: the first, €4,306,428, on Friday 19 December 2025 at 20:13 (NPO 3FM), and the fifth, €12,288,653, on Tuesday 23 December 2025 at 20:14 (NPO 3FM). The final total followed on Christmas Eve, after the finale that started at 19:25: €18,423,566, published at 20:04.

The DJs stay in the Glazen Huis until Christmas Eve, but you can still donate afterwards. The definitive figure comes months later: for 2025 it was €18,848,700, announced on Monday 16 March 2026 (NPO 3FM).

How to donate, request a song or start your own fundraiser

• Donate at 3fm.nl/doneer, which is already open. The FAQ also gives a bank account in the name of the Nederlandse Brandwonden Stichting; mention "3FM Serious Request" with your transfer. During the week you can put cash in the letterbox at the Glazen Huis.
• Request a song in exchange for a donation: not open yet. Last year it opened on Sunday 23 November 2025. The DJs play as many requests as they can, and the most requested songs return in the Top 3FM Serious Request, which runs until 12:00 on New Year's Eve.
• Start your own action (Kom in Actie): register your fundraiser at npo3fm.nl/kominactie, where people can donate to it directly; it is already open. You may deduct your costs: sell cakes at €10 that cost €2 each to make and you donate €8. The Kom in Actie site can't deduct costs, so let buyers pay you, for example with a payment request. Cash you collect is best paid in through your action page, so that it shows in your total. Tag @npo3fm and use #3FM and #SR26.
• Schools can ask for a guest lesson about Serious Request and the Brandwonden Stichting, given by a volunteer when one is free, or give it themselves with 3FM's lesson pack (sign-up form).
• The webshop and the auction open later.

Getting to the Markt in Arnhem: train, bus, car and bike

The municipality will publish road access and closures for the week later. What applies now:

• Train and bus: from Arnhem Centraal it is a 15-minute walk (1,200 metres) to the Eusebiuskerk by the Markt. Buses stop at Eusebiuskerk (lines 12 and 43) and at Stadstheater Arnhem (lines 2, 3, 5, 6, 14, 33, 62 and 300) (Eusebiuskerk).
• Car: paid parking applies in the whole city centre until 23:00, and the nearest garages are Broerenstraat and Rozet. The municipal garages Centraal, Musis and Rozet charge €0.70 per 10 minutes from 06:00 to 18:00, €1.70 per hour from 18:00 to 06:00, and at most €24 a day (Gemeente Arnhem).
• Park and ride: P+R GelreDome is free. Buses 7 and 306 run to Velperplein in the centre, and a group ticket for up to four people costs €3.50 from the driver. The P+R is not available during large events at the GelreDome.
• Bike: the guarded bike parks in the centre, at Gele Rijdersplein and in the Musiskwartier (Johnny van Doornplein), are free. Their normal hours are Monday to Wednesday and Friday 07:30–19:00, Thursday 07:30–22:00, Saturday 08:00–18:00 and Sunday 11:00–18:00 (Gemeente Arnhem).
• Disabled parking: 3FM plans priority spaces near the Glazen Huis and will say where.

What else is on in Arnhem that week?

Concerts, a country house in its Christmas decorations and the church tower beside the square, and a dance marathon for the Glazen Huis the Saturday before, each checked on the organiser's own page on 24 October. For Arnhem's Christmas market, see our page on Christmas markets in Gelderland.

Where was Serious Request before, and how much did it raise?

The total announced on Christmas Eve is not the last word: donations still come in afterwards, and NPO 3FM publishes a definitive figure weeks or months later. NPO called 2025's result a record (NPO).

Quick answers

When is Serious Request 2026? From Friday 18 to Thursday 24 December 2026.

Where is the Glazen Huis in 2026? On the Markt in Arnhem, in the city centre by the Eusebiuskerk.

Is it free to visit, and when is it open? Entry is free and the site is open 24/7.

Which charity is it for? The Nederlandse Brandwonden Stichting, for a new children's burns centre in Beverwijk.

Who are the DJs in 2026? Not announced yet. Last year 3FM named them on 20 October.

Who performs on the stage? Not announced yet. Last year's first line-up came out on 8 December, and every concert was free.

Is it on TV? The 2026 schedule is not out. Last year it ran 24/7 on NPO 1 Extra and NPO Start, with daily programmes on NPO 1 and NPO 3.

How much did it raise last year? €18,423,566 on Christmas Eve 2025 in Den Bosch, and €18,848,700 in the final count.

More to do over the holidays is in our Christmas holidays 2026 guide, and the Top 2000 cafés, quizzes and live shows of the same weeks are in our Top 2000 2026 guide.

Cover photo: the Glazen Huis and the stage on the Markt in Den Bosch at the opening of 3FM Serious Request, 18 December 2025. Photo: Jaap-073 via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Archive photo; cropped and reduced, no generative editing.