June is expected to be slightly more springlike than May and the weather bureaus have assured Dutch News that you can peel off at least one layer as you enjoy lots of sports events and festivals. Museums and theatres are included too, for a bit of indoor warmth if necessary.

Kick off the summer in Amsterdam
In Amsterdam, summer starts on the first of the month with the Amsterdam Open Air festival in the Gaasperpark, no matter what the weather is like. Choose from 10 stages and 160+ artists,  including Straf_werk, Technoforest, Kanaal 40 and Vunzige Deuntjes (gross tunes). June 1 and 2. Website

Catch Avedon’s Capote at the Kunsthal
Relationships is the name of a retrospective consisting of over 130 photographs by American fashion and portrait photographer Richard Avedon at the Kunsthal in Rotterdam. Avedon photographed some of his famous sitters, Marilyn Monroe, Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol and Truman Capote among them, at different points in their careers.  Capote reportedly didn’t like his older and puffier version very much, but then who does. From June 1. Website

Go back to the Boijmans
The Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam is opening its doors for 5 weeks as part of the Rotterdam Architecture Month . Craving for Boijmans is a good opportunity for those who are gagging to see what has been done tot he iconic building since renovation work started in 2019.

The list of what will be on show was not complete at the time of writing but will include a performance created by Matthew Barney, and a grand piano made from the felt of Rotterdam sheep, so not so much a Bechstein as a Bahstein and a painting by René Daniels which will be shown in a climate-controlled box.  From June 1. Website

Witness the case of Tessa
Directed by Eline Arbo, the Amsterdam ITA Ensemble presents Prima Facie. In the Dutch version of the award-winning monlogue by Suzie Miller Maria Kraakman is criminal defence lawyer Tessa who gets off men accused of sexual assault by skillfully poking holes in their victims’ stories until she herself becomes the object of these tactics. The play is surtitled in English. June 1-14. Website

Be a son of the soil
People’s connection to the soil is the theme of a travelling group show at the Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven. The museum is welcoming a host of artists, activists and thinkers from all corners of the world who, each in their own way, investigate the web of traditions that bind people to the land. They document what people have done to change it through the years and how it affects their relationship with it. Soils opens on June 15. Website

Find out what works for you
The STET English Theatre presents Your Sexts Are Shit: Older Better Letters, a solo performance by Rachel Mars. How do the sexually explicit letters from artists and writers such as Georgia O’Keeffe and James Joyce compare to today’s sexting? Mars provides food for thought as she asks how we create a sexual identity for ourselves when writing and if the medium influences how we present ourselves. June 15, 16 and 17. Website

H’art Kandinsky
The tortuously named H’art Museum is presenting Kandinsky, its first big exhibition since breaking ties with its Russian partner the Hermitage but not quite with Russian artists. Fortunately, quite a lot of Kandinsky’s works ended up in the collection of the Centre Pompidou which has now graciously lent over 60 of them to H’art, covering both his early figurative paintings and the abstract works that made his name.  From June 19. Website

Cheer for Joost Klein at Pinkpop
The Pinkpop festival at Landgraaf has an impressive lineup this year, including Ed Sheeran,  Calvin Harris, Keane, Anouk, Avril Lavigne and Louis Tomlinson. Joost Klein, who has been soaring to great heights after being kicked out of the Eurovision finals for allegedly threatening a member of staff,  was added to the lineup at the last minute. Europinkpop, Europinkpop… June 21, 22 and 23. Website

Meet Mueck’s people at the Voorlinden
The Voorlinden Museum in Wassenaar is hosting an exhibition of early and recent work by sculptor and former puppeteer Ron Mueck. The Australian artist’s Couple under an Umbrella has long been one of the museum’s most popular permanent exhibits. Mueck’s people are uncannily realistic and their scale, which is never life-size, is pretty unsettling too. From June 29. Website

Trump the other team at USA trivia
It’s Trivia Night USA at the John Adams institute where you can show just how much or little you know about the most powerful country in the world. Or is it? Politics, popular culture, music, history, snacks, nothing is out of bounds. You can get your own team of experts together (see website) and have a go at winning. June 27. Website

Take in some sporting events

There are plenty of sporting events to enjoy this June, either in the flesh or in front of the telly. Here’s the lineup for June, and a bit of July:

Amsterdam Rugby 7s
The big event in the Dutch rugby calendar, the Amsterdam rugby 7s, takes place on June 1 and 2. Elite and social rugby 7s teams, alongside seasoned vets in the 10s, go head-to-head in the ultimate showdown at sports park De Eendracht. Website

T20 World Cup
The Netherlands is one of 20 teams in this year’s cricket T20 World Cup which will take place in the USA and West Indies from 1 to 29 June, 2024. The Dutch have been growing in stature as a cricketing nation and their performance at last year’s World Cup included a shock win over South Africa. Website

European athletics
This year’s European Championships take place in Rome between June 7 to 12. 400 metre hopefuls Femke Bol and Lieke Klaver are among the Dutch athletes in action.Website

Euro 2024 championship football
Three-time winners Germany will stage June’s European football championships which run from 14 June to 14 July. Oranje are in Group D with Poland, Austria and France and are first on the pitch against Poland on June 16. Website

Dutch Open Golf
The Dutch Open is one of the oldest international tournaments in Europe and is taking place this year at The International golf course near Amsterdam from June 20 to 23. Website