Fans of the TT Festival in Assen and the Football World Cup do not have to miss anything on June 26 in the night from Thursday to Friday. There will be large screens on three or four music stages in the center of the city, where the public can watch the World Cup match of the Dutch team against Tunisia in Dallas from one o’clock at night. This was decided jointly by the municipality, TT Festival and the Asser catering industry.
Director Jan Gerbrand Krol of the TT Festival is happy with the decision. Because this way, the partygoers don’t have to go home early, because they certainly don’t want to miss the Dutch team’s third group match. And what’s more, he doesn’t have to adjust the music program for it.
“Because in terms of time, it fits seamlessly together. Thursday, June 25 is, as usual, the first evening of the TT Festival. Then the music performances would stop at one o’clock anyway. So you can immediately switch to the screens to watch the football match.”
Last year the TT Festival started on Wednesday, but that was because of the anniversary year with 100 years of TT and 50 years of TT Festival. “But we now start on Thursday as always. And I am quite happy that it is that night that the Dutch team plays. Because if it had been Friday or Saturday night, we would have had a problem with the programming.”
It has not yet been definitively determined which music stages the big screens will be on. “We are still in consultation with the catering industry about this. They run the squares. And we still have to look frantically for screens,” says Krol. “So whether it will be in three or four places in the city, that has not yet been determined.”
Krol estimates that around 20,000 partygoers will come to the first evening of the TT Festival, also known as the Night of the Assenaren. “And we think half of that will stick around to watch football.” Due to the nightly football match, extra police and security will remain on duty until the match has been played. The toilets also remain open, says Krol.
He does give advance warning to people who want to come to the center by bus. “There will be no extra night buses running that evening, unlike the other TT Nights on Friday and Saturday. So if the public wants to go home at three o’clock at night, they will have to take their bike or walk on their feet. But because on Thursday evening it is mainly a party for the people of Assen, we do not think this will cause many problems.”
The municipality has banned TV screens on terraces for the catering industry during the week of the TT Festival. This ban applies from Wednesday, June 24 to Sunday, June 28. For the rest, TV screens are allowed on the Asser terraces during the Football World Cup in America. But the terrace space may not be expanded for this purpose. Also, no taps, tents, canopies or stands may be placed.