Festivals and pop venues call the recent relaxation of the corona policy ‘a wax nose’. It remains to be seen whether there will be a concert or event in the short term. “We don’t actually know when something is possible. It is not possible now.”
Relaxation may sound like good news for pop venues and festivals, but the snags throw a spanner in the works. Events without a fixed seat are not yet allowed and there is still a maximum number of 1250 visitors, both indoors and outdoors. That still means little perspective for pop venues and festivals, both of which have to plan far ahead, something that is difficult at the moment.
“We are furious. We don’t feel taken seriously at all,” says Johan Dortmans of the Brabant festival collective Front of House, which represents several Brabant music festivals. Earlier, festival organizer ID&T already said that the opening of the event sector was an ’empty promise’.
“We fully align ourselves with ID&T. We are totally stunned. We are the last in line with every relaxation but can be the first to absorb the blow. And that without good substantiation of the policy, in our view. It’s another disappointment. A drama”, says Dortmans.
Dortmans is disturbed by the erratic government policy. “Sometimes everything is possible, other times not. We have done everything we can to work with, but the events sector is opened and closed all the time. We benefit from clarity in the long term.”
That is why Dortmans advocates a long-term plan. “We need a step-by-step plan for the next three to four months. Organizing a major event involves a lot of work. That long term is essential for us. The yo-yoing breaks us down completely.” Front of House is currently working with the province to be able to open safely.
Poppodium 013 in Tilburg also feels disadvantaged. On Saturday, 013 already indicated that it was hopeful, but that it had ‘little’ to the leaked relaxation. Now that those relaxations have become concrete, 013 feels a need. “The current relaxations do not give us any chance to do anything,” says Frens Frijns directly.
“There is a lot of frustration with us. Look, we went out first and now open last. Putting 400 people on a seat in a room for 3000 people, that’s not for us. We just have very little here nothing really.”
Another thorn in the side is the lack of perspective. “We hoped that this new policy would last three weeks, but the government is talking about a six-week period. That’s too long for us. Besides, after those six weeks, we probably still have to put everyone in a chair. It may already be April before we can really open. And then people complain that young people are not vaccinated. Why would they? All the fun things are closed,” Frijns concludes.
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