Forum Groningen has approached the municipality for extra financial support. The sharply increased energy prices cast a shadow over 2023 and beyond. “Our business model is not designed for a war in Ukraine,” says director Dirk Nijdam.
In its budget for this year, Forum takes into account an increase in energy costs of more than 800,000 euros net.
“We are not an institution that is simply calculated on such a major setback. If we were to pass this on to visitors, our movie tickets would be the most expensive in the Netherlands,” says Nijdam. “It is not about a few percent. Library subscriptions should be rolled over three times, that sort of thing. So we’re not going to do that. Everything is becoming more expensive for people anyway. They also have this problem at home.”
“It’s not solved one, two, three”
Nijdam is hopeful that one way or another the government (municipality or central government) will find a solution. “Of course we are not the only institution with this problem. And it’s serious money, so it’s really not one, two, three solved. But I assume reasonableness.”
He hopes to get clarity as soon as possible about how much support money the municipality can invest in the young cultural institution. The national government has made a total of 300 million euros available to municipalities in the Netherlands to compensate social and cultural organizations for rising energy prices.
,,We are talking,” confirms the spokesperson for alderman for Culture Kirsten de Wrede (PvdD). ,, This problem occurs at several institutions in our municipality and we first want to have the picture complete before we can say anything about it.
Energy consumption is much lower than expected
Nijdam also has good news. The energy consumption in the building on the Nieuwe Markt in Groningen is much lower than expected. “We are at the lower end of what has been calculated for our building in various scenarios. We’ve done a lot about that. Doors closed more often, temperature in the building lowered. And energy prices are already much more favorable for next year.”
Without additional support, the Forum Groningen foundation – responsible for the multifunctional building in Stad and the eight Forum libraries in the neighborhoods and Haren and Ten Boer – must raise one million euros from the general reserves after the fourth year. There are currently 2.4 million in it.
“Continuity is guaranteed for the time being, but for the future the possibility of doing business will be limited if we have to take such a bite out of the reserves,” says Nijdam. He also wrote it in the financial annual report: ‘The challenge in the past two years has been to draw up the budget in the new building and the corona pandemic. For 2023 it appears that no year is the same and that every year has its own challenges.’
Cinema revenue fell short of budget in 2022
Forum Groningen, the imposing building on the Nieuwe Markt, opened its doors in November 2019. After two corona years, 2022 (except for the first weeks) was the first ‘normal’ year since the opening. With excellent visitor numbers as a result. More than two million people crossed the threshold last year. Commercially, however, Forum raised half a million euros less than budgeted.
In particular, the revenues from the cinemas lagged behind. “We also received that sound from film houses elsewhere in the country,” says Nijdam. ,, Only in September, October did cinemas, movie theaters and theaters really get going again. Very late, after the last corona lockdown.”
The subsidy income was six hundred thousand euros higher than previously calculated. Forum ended the year with a deficit of two tons, which was absorbed from the corona damage reserves. And these figures include a deposit of 830,000 euros that Forum makes each year for maintenance and replacement of the equipment. An obligation of the municipality as a subsidy provider.
In any case, the municipality of Groningen has extra money available for the first five years that the Forum is open. 459,000 euros per year. But that is not enough to cover the expected deficit for 2023.