Anyone who bought a ticket for the international festival Elrow Town at the last minute will be disappointed: a week and a half before the big day, the last ticket buyers receive the message that their ticket is no longer valid and that the money will be refunded. “Due to the Grand Prix in Zandvoort in combination with the current train disruptions, the local authorities have forced us to disappoint the last ticket buyers.”
The Spanish Elrow Town started in 2010 as a small festival in Barcelona on a Sunday morning, but according to the organization can now be called a ‘global sensation’, with editions in New York, London, Madrid and on the party island of Ibiza.
To the delight of many North Hollanders, the ‘biggest edition ever’ will now take place on Saturday 3 September in the Langedijkse Geestmerambacht. It is the fourth time that the festival is held on Dutch soil.
Inside the gates of Elrow Town, visitors will find themselves ‘in a fantasy world where people can… escape from everyday reality‘. Sweaty bodies go wild to raw techno beats and cheerful house music. That sounded like music to the ears of the Alkmaar Lisanne. She managed to get a ticket last minute.
“We live around the corner and would go by bike; I don’t understand the problem”
Until an email from the organization spoiled all the party fun: ‘Due to restrictions imposed by the local government, we are unfortunately allowed to admit fewer visitors. This means that we regret to cancel the Final Release Tickets.’
Party in backyard
The festival falls on exactly the same weekend as the Grand Prix in Zandvoort, which is organized on Sunday 4 September. “Based on the available police capacity and disruptions in public transport, 25,000 is the maximum number of visitors to protect public order and safety,” a spokesperson for the municipality of Dijk en Waard said.
However, Lisanne lives a stone’s throw away and planned to come by bicycle. The bad news therefore falls raw on her roof. “I find this very strange. We sent an email to the organization, in the hope that we can arrange something after all. I just wanted a party in my own backyard.”
Janne from Alkmaar also lives near the festival, but just like Lisanne received the message that she will get her money back and is no longer welcome. “Really awful,” is her response. “Isn’t this ridiculous? We live around the corner and would go by bike; I don’t understand the problem.”
‘Sensitive information’
It is not clear why Dijk en Waard previously granted a permit for 35,000 visitors. The fact that the decision was taken a week and a half before the spectacle is remarkable, given the dates of both events have been known for some time, as well as the disrupted train traffic.
“The last ones to buy tickets were the first to be canceled to keep it as fair as possible,” the organization told NH Nieuws. “All refunded customers will receive exclusive presale access to future Elrow festivals.” The organization does not want to share how many canceled tickets are involved, because this would be ‘sensitive information’.
