Young fan of rapper Donnie at the liberation festival in Groningen Photo: Marjorie Noë
The festival must again be free to enter. (As well as the toilet visits.) Otherwise no subsidy. That is the view of a majority of the municipality of Groningen. But financial issues have to be solved by others.
The municipality of Groningen contributed 84,500 euros this year. That is ‘already a major contribution’, according to the council factions that will submit a motion on the Liberation Festival on Wednesday evening. And from now on, conditions will be attached to this, as far as they are concerned. The council should submit ‘additional financial issues’ for the festival in The Hague, the province and other municipalities.
Another solution for PvdA, SP, VVD, CDA, Party for the Animals, Stadspartij and ChristenUnie is to look for ‘other sources of income’ and for the municipality to discuss this with the organization. The entrance fee of 5 euros (5.91 euros including service costs), criticized by many, was precisely intended, emphasized festival director Ebel Jan van Dijk several times, as a test to see whether this could be a solution for the financially vulnerable festival.
The province of Groningen annually puts an amount of 15,000 euros on the table and this year an additional 30,000 euros was added. The national committee of 4 and 5 May contributed 45,000 euros. That money came from the government, where it was already indicated last week that the Ministries of Health, Welfare and Sport and of the Interior and Kingdom Relations want to discuss the financing of the Liberation Festivals. Mayor Koen Schuiling previously wrote a letter requesting additional financial support.
It should be more like it used to be
A majority of the new city council wants – in addition to the financial requirements – that the council pays attention to a different set-up in the evaluation of the Liberation Festival 2022. It must become more the way it once was, according to the motion.
In it the seven factions write: ‘The charm of the liberation festival was that you could stroll through the City Park without planning and enjoy all kinds of different stages, places or just your beer.’
The organization chose a different setup
The festival organization opted for a different set-up this year. In particular, the entrance price of 5.91 euros (including service costs) was a disappointment to many, although anyone who did not have money for a ticket could report to the organization for a free ticket.
Festival director Ebel Jan van Dijk announced last week that more than 43,000 tickets had been issued for the festival on the Drafbaan in the Stadspark in Groningen. The council factions note that approximately two thousand cards have been issued to people with a low income. And that toilet visit, so not the urinals for men, cost 2 euros. The parties believe that this should also change.