India Day 2027 in the Netherlands Independence Day on 15 August

What is India's Independence Day?

Independence Day celebrates 15 August 1947, when British rule over the Indian subcontinent formally came to an end. The Indian Independence Act of 18 July 1947 set up India and Pakistan as two separate countries from midnight on 14 August. Partition was followed by mass migration and violence between communities.

On the day itself the Prime Minister raises the flag at Delhi's Red Fort and speaks to the country. The President addresses the nation the evening before, the chief ministers raise the flag in their state capitals, and schools, colleges and other institutions run their own flag-raisings and cultural programmes.

Republic Day on 26 January is a separate day: it celebrates the Constitution taking effect in 1950. The Embassy of India in the Netherlands holds both days as an open house at India House.

When is it in 2027?

Independence Day is on 15 August every year and is a national public holiday in India. In 2027 that is a Sunday, 80 years after 1947, and it will be the 81st Independence Day; the 80th was in 2026.

In the Netherlands the embassy held its celebration on the 15th itself, whatever the weekday: Thursday in 2024, Friday in 2025 and Saturday in 2026. The NIA's 2026 evening was on the 15th too. The programme for 2027 is not out. Look at the events page of the Embassy of India in The Hague and the events page of the NIA.

How it is marked in the Netherlands

In 2026 the day was marked by the embassy and by the NIA. The celebrations are a flag-hoisting and a cultural programme, not a parade.

The Embassy of India in The Hague marks 15 August with a flag-hoisting at India House, the ambassador's residence in Wassenaar. Since June 2017 both Independence Day and Republic Day have been open-house occasions there, welcoming the Indian community and friends of India in the Netherlands. More than 650 people came in 2024, and more than 900 in 2026.

The Netherlands India Association, based in The Hague, lists Indian Independence Day among its yearly activities. On Saturday 15 August 2026 it held an evening from 18:00 at De Duinpan in De Zilk, combining India's 80th Independence Day with its own 75th anniversary, under the theme India, Netherlands and Water. There is no 2027 programme from the embassy or the NIA yet.

What to expect

The embassy programme is a ceremony more than a fair. In 2026 it opened with the song Vande Mataram, followed by the flag-hoisting by Ambassador Kumar Tuhin, the national anthem and a reading of the President of India's address to the nation. A cultural programme came next, with Kuchipudi, Bollywood and Bhangra and patriotic songs by local artists, and the day ended with refreshments. An exhibition on the national flag and the national song was on show.

In 2024 the cultural part featured Bhangra, Garba, Bihu and Santhali folk traditions and contemporary Bollywood dance, and guests joined the #SelfieWithTiranga campaign of Har Ghar Tiranga.

In the run-up to the 2026 celebration the embassy ran competitions, among them traditional attire for women, a children's painting competition on a patriotic theme at several places in the Netherlands, and the quiz Bharat ko Janiye. Winners were honoured at the event.

The NIA evening in 2026 listed cultural performances and cuisine among its highlights.

How to join, and with children

The embassy's celebration is open to the Indian community and friends of India, so you do not need an Indian passport. For 2025 the programme was set for 10:00 to 11:00, with entry closing at 9:45 at the front main gate, the only way in. Guests registered with the QR code on the poster, needed valid photo ID and could not bring bags. The rules for 2027 will come with the invitation.

NIA events are ticketed through its website. Its membership page lists a Friend membership at €60 a year with 20 percent off all NIA events, and a Patron membership at €150 a year with free entry to all NIA events.

With children: the embassy's 2025 programme was set for one hour (10:00 to 11:00), and in 2026 it organised a painting competition for children before the day. Because bags were not allowed in 2025, ask the embassy beforehand how it handles a pram or a baby's bag. Check the invitation for any rules on children.

Not to mix up with the Indië commemoration

Searching for 15 August in Dutch also leads to the national Indië-herdenking. It is held every year on 15 August at the Indisch Monument in The Hague, for the victims of the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, and it remembers the end of the Second World War for the Kingdom. The Stichting Nationale Herdenking 15 Augustus 1945 organises it.

It is a different occasion from India's Independence Day, with a different history behind it. In 2026 NOS broadcast it on NPO 1 on Saturday 15 August at 18:45.