Sesamstraat Sesamstraat is the " Sesame Street " co - production that airs in the Netherlands . It has been produced by NTR since 2010 ; it was originally produced by NOS from the show ' s debut in 1976 until it was moved to NPS from 1995 to 2010 . The Dutch Muppet characters are Pino ( the Dutch Big Bird ) , Tommie , Ieniemienie , Purk , Angsthaas and Stuntkip . Troel , a white female puppet with similar looks as Tommie , was featured during the second season . The actors portray abstracted roles of typical caretakers , such as a working mother , modern father , grandmother , grandfather , big sister , et cetera . Like most of the American " Sesame Street " characters , Pino and Tommie went through major changes through the years . The first Pino started out as a plump , messy - looking bird with smaller eyes . Over the years , he lost a little weight , his white tummy became blue like the rest of his body , his legs grew , and his eyes switched from realistic to cartoonlike , and from blue to black . In 1999 , in order to make him look younger , his beak was shortened , he got yellow feathers around his eyes and he got colorful feathers on his head For Tommie , he evolved from a ' teddy bear ' kind of creature to a more doglike animal , and is occasionally referred to as a dog . Each episode is centered around a certain theme , like " Animals " , " Fear " , " Traffic " , " Death / Sad " , etc . There is also a bit more freedom about subjects like ' going to the bathroom ' or ' saying dirty words ' . " Sesamstraat " doesn ' t focus primarily around and , like the American " Sesame Street " does , but rather around social values . Unlike the original target group in America , all the children in the Netherlands get to learn letters and numbers in school . Some of the cognitive items are adjusted to fit in the Dutch education ; letters of the alphabet , for instance , are pronounced phonetically ( the letter M is pronounced " m " instead of " em " ) so that children know how to use them when learning how to read . A regular Sesamstraat episode starts with a street sequence , and usually ends with one of the actors reading a story to the Muppets or children visiting the set . Fifty percent of the show consists of dubbed American inserts , the other 50 percent is original Dutch material . The Dutch material consists of street scenes ( including recurring scenes ) , " music videos " ( both live action and cartoons ) , performances by mime artists , clowns and puppeteers ( like Hakim and Lejo ) and live action scenes on location with kids . A new quantity of American clips is dubbed for each season , whereas clips from earlier seasons still remain a big part of the series as well . Edited episodes of " Elmo ' s World " have been featured since the new 25 minute format change , as well as " Global Grover " . Two of the most popular American characters are Bert and Ernie , thanks to their voice artists who are allowed to write their own material for audio recordings . Big Bird and the American human cast don ' t appear on " Sesamstraat " ( aside from imported American videos dubbed into Dutch ) . History . After a pilot episode entitled " Sesamplein " ( Sesame Square ) , " Sesamstraat " 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 this time there were only two Muppets and three live actors , Piet Hendriks , Sien Diels , and Annet van Heusden . Piet , who owned a hobby and crafts workshop and a camper which he would drive around The Netherlands and Belgium for live trips . Sien , who owned a grocery store , where the exchange of knowledge and happenings were as important as the selling of products . And Annet , who played a kindergarten teacher . In 1978 , Sesamstraat ' s format changed to a daily 15 minute show that aired in the evening , around dinnertime . Starting in September 2006 , Sesamstraat expanded to 30 minutes and airs three times a day . 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 abstract , colorful 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 . For the 2005 / 2006 season , " Sesamstraat " moved into new scenery . The set became completely abstract , with toy block - like buildings , broccoli for trees , and a tower with a giant light - up clock . The scenery was introduced with a TV special . Bert , Ernie , Cookie Monster , and Elmo flew over to Holland for this special occasion . It was the first time the American characters visited the Dutch street . Other special Sesamstraat episodes include the 2500th episode , and a yearly special episode focused on Sinterklaas . The 25th Anniversary series in which Dutch celebrities made guest appearances on the street . On January 7th , 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 residence 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 ) . Other celebrities that have made guest appearances are : Freek de Jonge ( " Comedian " ) , Remco Campert ( " Writer " ) , Ruud Gullit ( " Professional soccer player " ) , André van Duin ( " Comedian " ) , Mary Dresselhuys ( " Actress " ) , Hans Dagelet ( " Actor " ) , Kees van Kooten ( " Writer " ) , Brigitte Kaandorp ( " Comedian " ) , Sonja Barend ( " Show host " ) and Janine Kastelijn ( " Youth Winner for Reading in 2000 " ) and Wim T . Schippers " ( dutch voice actor for Ernie & Kermit ) " . In 1992 , a 30 minute film , " Sesamstraat en Melkweg " , was produced for the Artis Zoo Planetarium in Amsterdam . In 2005 the show saw some schedule trouble . The government decided to halt the funding and broadcasts of NPS . After this news , a large protest from all of the programs and actors was held on September 5 , 2005 in Den Haag ( The Hague ) , including characters from " Sesamstraat " . Since the show had just moved into the new set , Pino loudly expressed himself by saying , " NPS must stay ! We just moved and I don ' t feel like packing my toy pets again " . With these words , the big Sesamstraat - bird showed what he thought about the government and the public network ' s plans . At " het Plein " in Den Haag , Pino and comedian / TV host Jörgen Raymann presented 93 , 000 signatures supporting NPS to the cabinet representatives . During the day , several NPS artists protested on two stages . Among them were Wieteke van Dort ( Klokhuis ) , the band Relax and from Metropole Orkest ' s " The Bigband " . This protest was also featured on television with an interview done by Aart Staartjes , with Bert and Ernie . The final debate took place on September 12th , 2005 in the " Tweede Kamer " . It was decided that NPS could continue making programs , but it had to make a several changes to fit into modern television . A new broadcast schedule was put in place , which meant that Tommie , Pino , Ieniemienie and all the other characters on Sesamstraat had to move to a new time … again ! This was the fourth time that the broadcast time for the NPS children ’ s program had changed in the previous five years . Not only did Sesamstraat move broadcast times , but channels as well . It moved from Nederland 3 to Nederland 1 . A spokesman said they weren ’ t happy about the change . " It ' s positive for Sesamstraat to move to Nederland 1 ( the expanded family network ) . But we can ' t deny the problems all this shifting causes . With every shift we ' re loosing viewers . " In 2008 , the show got 15 minutes of extra broadcast time a day . This meant there was room for two more Muppets . Angsthaas and Stuntkip were introduced . Also in this season ( season 33 ) There was a segment called " Kleddertap " ( Stainingtap ) . The 22 segments where performed by Suzanna Pezo , who tapped a number or letter with paint . In 2009 , the show saw more schedule trouble . Because NPS wanted to make some trail shows regarding a multi - cultural show , it was decided to move Sesamstraat from 17 : 30h to 17 : 00h . The program makers and many fans protested against the time change . It was even brought before parliament , but was thrown out because the government may not get involved in decisions of the NPS Board of Directors . This was the fifth time in just a few years that the show had moved times . This was a controversial change , opponents argued that many children in the Netherlands have two working parents , and that they wouldn ' t at home at this time of day to watch the show . October 2009 brought a new segment for the show . Several famous Dutch singers perform duets with the Sesamstraat characters Pino , Tommie , Ieniemienie and Purk . All songs were written by Henny Vrienten . The segments air every Friday starting October 30 , 2009 . Among the artists are Trijntje Oosterhuis , André van Duin , Edsilia Rombley , Ernst Daniël Smid , Hind , Guus Meeuwis , Hans van Willigenburg , Huub van der Lubbe and Willeke Alberti . All the duets were broadcast again in a special on December 25 and 28 . December 5th 2011 the NOS took air time for a broadcast about commision " de Wit " . For the first time the Sinterklaas special was re - scheduled , white a lot of childeren where waiting in front of the television . Ajé Boschhuizen , editor from Sesame Street , wass dismayed that the broadcast did not took place in that evening . " We are very sorry . We have put a lot of work in these broadcasts and it is annoying when it does not continue . " The Sesame Street broadcast time was already moved because of the Sinterklaas Journal and was scheduled for 16 : 40 pm that day . The Temporary Committee Investigating the Financial System , also called ; " Commission - de Wit " , was a committee of the Dutch parliament . The committee made in response to the credit crisis investigating the ( cause of ) the problems in the financial system , and the measures taken by the Dutch government . It was lead by chairman Jan de Wit . In January 2014 , the show underwent a format change . Episodes were now 15 minutes instead of 25 , now featuring a recurring plot throughout the show . The time was filled with a new mini - series , " 10 voor " , featuring inserts starring various " Sesame Street " characters , and " Super Gezonde Monsters " . The reasoning behind the change was due to budget cuts , as well as studies showing kids would pay better attention in a shorter , more focused format . Beginning in 2015 , the show introduced its own version of Elmo . Already educated by Kevin Clash , Jogchem Jalink performs the character in both voice and puppetry . Jalink ' s Elmo started his debut on February 13 , 2015 , together with his new Dutch friends Tommie , Ieniemienie en Pino in the " Elmo ' s Quiz " segments featured on the " 10 voor " series . Exhibits Several exhibits were shown in the Netherlands regarding the show . The first one , 25 Jaar Sesamstraat , was shown in Hoorn in 2000 . A second was a Sesamstraat themed exhibition located in Madurodam . And from march 2010 till february 2011 there is one exibit called " Schuif Gezellig Aan . " In addition , a museum in Dieren , " TV Toys " , which specialized in television show toys for children , had a display dedicated to Sesamstraat . The museum lasted until 2008 and still waits for a restart . Awards . Sesamstraat received the " Cinekid Kinderkast Award " in 1998 . The Cinekid Kinderkast is the prize of Dutch children ' s television : a statue designed by famous writer / artist Jan Wolkers . Today the award is called " The Golden Kinderkast " and includes 7500 euro . In 2010 , Sesamstraat received the ' Gouden Stuiver ' award at the annual Gouden Televizier - Ring Gala . The ' Gouden Stuiver ' is awarded to the children ' s program that received the most votes by Dutch viewers . Theme Song . Every season features a different leader film for the " Sesamstraat Tune " . The first theme song for Sesamstraat was a translated version of the original Sesame Street Theme . For later seasons , a slightly altered version was recorded , with lyrics by Hans Dorrestijn . Despite viewers ' complaints about the lyrics " Laat je speelgoed staan voor " Sesamstraat " " ( put your toys aside for " Sesamstraat " ) indicating that watching TV was more important than playing , these lyrics have not been changed since 1982 . A press release states another complaint concerning the theme song in the early 1980 ' s . Children tried to sing along with Frank Groothof ( who sang the theme at the time ) , but couldn ' t reach the high pitch ; this led to a key change from F major to C major . During the early 1980 ' s , instrumental versions of the theme song were used as background music or introductions for street scenes : one of which , with percussions by drummer Sly Dunbar , was released on the CD " Sly Wicked and Slick " . Cast . Puppeteers : Previous puppeteers : Actors