Sesamstraat

is a Dutch television series in the Netherlands, and a localized version of the U.S. children's program Sesame Street. In its early days, the show was broadcast in Flanders (Belgium) as well. It is the second longest-running foreign adaptation of Sesame Street without interruptions, behind only . It targets children between 3–7 years old. History After a pilot episode entitled Sesamplein ("Sesame Square") which was released in 1974, began broadcasting in 1976. It started as a Dutch/Belgian coproduction, with only one thirty-minute episode a week. These episodes had only 12 minutes allotted for the Dutch cast. At the time, there were only two Muppets and three live actors (Piet Hendriks, Sien Diels, and Annet van Heusden). Piet owned a hobby and crafts workshop and a camper which he would drive around The Netherlands and Belgium for live trips. Sien owned a grocery store, where the exchange of knowledge and happenings were as important as the selling of products. AAnnet played a kindergarten teacher. In 1978, the show's format changed to a daily 15 minute show that aired in the evening, around dinnertime. The first season was shot on location in a half Dutch, half Belgian town. It was broadcast every Sunday for a half-hour in the afternoon. For the second season, a realistic town square was built inside the studio, which slowly evolved into a more abstracted, colourful town, featuring Pino's nest, Sien's store, a workshop, two houses, an apartment building, a trailer and a treehouse. The insides of the house sets could be decorated in different ways, so that the viewers would never be certain about who lived where. Other special Sesamstraat episodes include the 2500th episode, and a yearly special episode focused on Sinterklaas. The 25th anniversary of the series featured guest appearances on the street by Dutch celebrities. On January 7, 2000, Prime Minister Wim Kok read the daily story "Er staat een olifantje in het gras..." (There is a little elephant standing in the grass) for the Muppet residents before they went to sleep. Wim Kok is one of the many prominent guests who read a story to them. (Normally this was done by Frank, Gerda or Paula).