All fourteen liberation festivals in the Netherlands have been struggling financially in recent years. Costs have risen sharply since the corona period and the free festivals depend on bar turnover for income. In bad weather, income drops and festivals run at a loss.
In 2023, many liberation celebrations literally fell through due to bad weather. That is why the previous cabinet allocated a million euros in subsidy for the organizers, but the Schoof cabinet withdrew that subsidy. That was also bad news for Bevrijdingspop Haarlem.
‘Risk is too great’
Chairman Bernt Scheiders previously informed NH that real government money was needed. “It is clear that we can no longer organize it with the current resources. The risk of an edition with bad weather is simply too great.”
In 2025, eighty years of freedom will be commemorated. To ensure that the anniversary can also be celebrated at Bevrijdingspop, the municipality is allocating an extra 60,000 euros, bringing the subsidy for next year to 120,000 euros.
Extra money from the province and cabinet?
The province of North Holland also makes extra money available for Bevrijdingspop. A motion by BBB and D66 in the Provincial Council was almost unanimously adopted a month and a half ago. “The goal is to look for a structural solution so that the festival can continue to exist in 2025 and beyond,” the two parties said at the time. It is not clear exactly how much money the province is allocating.
The government may also come to the rescue after all, according to the decision of the mayor and aldermen: “Due to the celebration of 80 years of freedom in 2025, the government is also considering a
to make an extra budget available for all fourteen official liberation festivals in the Netherlands.” It is still unclear how the festivals on May 5 will continue after next year.