Sinterklaasjournaal leaves new Sint unrevealed as Stefan de Walle's successor stays secret

No new Sint in the opening episode

The first episode of Het Sinterklaasjournaal aired on Monday, 9 November, and it did not reveal who will succeed Stefan de Walle as the national Sint. Many viewers had expected the name that evening, so the omission disappointed children and adults alike. The Goedheiligman was promised but never appeared, and his study was empty even though his costume, mitre included, was still there. Near the end of the broadcast, presenter Merel Westrik said she still missed the Sint himself.

Hoofdpiet and the empty study

Hoofdpiet, played by Niels van der Laan, showed Westrik the steamboat and insisted that the Sint was simply at work behind his desk. When the room proved empty, Hoofdpiet admitted he appeared to have missed something. Van der Laan added a reassurance about the Sint's whereabouts that the episode did not back up.

“We do not need to worry about Sinterklaas.”

Westerik closed the episode by stating the obvious problem. She said the Sint was not on the steamboat, and her remark left the question open for the next episodes.

“Sinterklaas is not on the steamboat.”

Stefan de Walle's exit

De Walle, aged 61, took over the role in 2011 from Bram van der Vlugt and played the Sint for fifteen years. His departure became public in September, after the new online platform SintTalk pushed the story and the NTR had to confirm that he was stopping. Trouw reports that the decision went against his wishes, while NOS notes that it is still unclear whether the departure was voluntary. In a statement that month he wrote:

“Dear Netherlands, with gratitude and with a heavy heart, my role as adviser to the national Sint ends after fifteen years.”

More than a week before the premiere, cabaret artist Karel de Rooij suggested in his podcast that giving up the role might be hard. De Walle agreed and said he would one day tell the full story of how it ended. The Telegraaf recalls that he received death threats during the Zwarte Piet debate and had to wear a bulletproof vest during the 2019 arrival.

Names in circulation

The Telegraaf lists Daan Schuurmans, Ramsey Nasr, Gijs Naber and Kasper van Kooten among the names that did the rounds before the broadcast. Gelderlander reports that Gijs Naber's name kept circulating after the episode, while some candidates said on social media that they were not the successor. Jochem van Gelder is one of them. Trouw notes that a rumour mill had been running since mid-September, which is when the story first took off.

What comes next

The steamboat is due in Grave, in the municipality of Land van Cuijk in Brabant, on Saturday, 14 November, if all goes to plan. Grave's mayor said in the broadcast that the town is ready and has a gift for the Sint, which will be unveiled on the market on Tuesday, 10 November. A Gelderlander reporter found that the Sinterklaasboom the Sint once planted in Grave had been cut down. Workers at the Pietenhuis, where the Spanish delegation usually stays, told another reporter the building would be demolished on Tuesday, a plan the Sint's team appeared unaware of.

The programme airs daily at 18.00 on NPO 3 until 5 December.