After an old-fashioned pleasant evening during protest action ‘The Night is up’, fines are a fact for a number of participating clubs. For example, N8club in Helmond has to collect a fine of 4500 euros. “But that’s the risk we consciously took, that’s okay. I did what I had to do,” says owner Thomas van Kooten.
The municipality of Helmond already determined in advance that local catering industry that would participate in the event had to pay a fine of 4500 euros. “They just do their job,” says Van Kooten. He doesn’t blame the church.
“We have had a good conversation with the mayor before, he shows understanding for our situation. The fault is in The Hague, they should have simply tolerated this action.”
Van Kooten really enjoyed last evening, despite that fine. “It was a very nice evening. Busy, cozy, really as usual. As if it was the first time that everyone was allowed to go outside.”
The tickets for the evening party were quickly sold out at Van Kooten. This also applies to pop stage 013 in Tilburg, where 1300 tickets were sold within one minute. Techno lovers could dance in the small hall, while the large hall hosted performances by various artists, such as Lady Bee and Mad Miran.
“It was very pleasant,” says one visitor. “During Lady Bee’s performance, visitors climbed the stage for selfies. Everyone was thrilled to be able to go out again.”
013 director Frens Frijns was fined ten thousand euros by enforcers of the municipality of Tilburg. “We knew in advance that we would get it,” says a spokesperson for the pop temple. “We take that for granted. That penalty was calculated. It was a great evening. Really crazy. The audience was so happy that they could go out again. That was a while ago for everyone.”
In Eindhoven, De Effenaar, Dynamo (Haven) and Subbar were open. Subbar closed its doors around midnight, according to its own words in consultation with the municipality. The municipality could not say on Sunday whether fines will be handed out in Eindhoven. “We will decide that on Monday, depending on the information we get from the enforcers.”
According to the police, everything went well in Eindhoven, Helmond and Tilburg and there were no significant incidents.