Watching a Dutch match on a Drenthe square is not something that can be taken for granted everywhere in this World Cup. There is doubt in the catering industry, with the result that some entrepreneurs postpone plans or prefer to move their screens indoors.
The World Cup is an opportunity for many football fans to come together and cheer on the Dutch national team. Due to this great interest, the decision has been made in various places to place a large screen on a square. A majority of the House of Representatives wanted fans to be able to watch the Dutch World Cup matches for free on a square or other large location.
But catering operators are legally obliged to pay money for large-scale public displays. Minister Rianne Letschert of Education, Culture and Science announced this in a letter to the House of Representatives. The obligation arises from the legal regulation that NOS must charge compensation for this.
In Assen this seems to have little influence on the plans. The municipality, TT Festival and catering industry have made agreements to convert the city center into a viewing location during the tournament, with several large screens on various stages. Visitors to the TT Festival and fans of the Dutch national team can go there on the night of Thursday 25 to Friday 26 June for the match against Tunisia.
Yet Frank van Urk, chairman of the Asser department of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, notices that the national discussion is actually putting the brakes on entrepreneurs elsewhere. “It is mainly uncertainty that dominates. Catering entrepreneurs wait and see because no one knows exactly where they stand. That makes investing difficult.”
According to him, Assen is an exception. “The green light was clearly given during the TT Festival. As a result, it will be organized as planned.” He sees a different picture in the rest of the province. “You notice that entrepreneurs are looking at each other. Some leave plans for the time being or choose not to place large screens outside.”
The latter in particular is the sore point, according to Van Urk. “Broadcasting indoors is usually possible with existing licenses. It is precisely the outdoor screens that are financially and organizationally uncertain.”
In Meppel, catering entrepreneur Jaap de Boer from Herberg ‘t Plein is less guided by the discussion. His café shows matches all year round and has permanent contracts for this. “We simply pay the management organization Videma. Just as you purchase music rights from BumaStemra, you do so for example with Videma. We also have contracts with parties such as Ziggo and ESPN.”
According to De Boer, the World Cup does not change much in practice. “For us, it’s just the same as any other football night.” He does make a clear distinction between inside and outside. The matches are not automatically shown on large screens outside, especially at late kick-off times.
“We will only show that match at night against Tunisia indoors due to possible noise pollution. After all, we have to continue with the neighborhood all year long, we are not going to screw that up. If it were the final, it would be a different story,” he jokes. “But fortunately that match is not at night.”