The Ferris wheel returns to the city and it is possible to bungee jump again. New is a motorsport arena with stunt drivers, moped sprint races, trial and supermotard races and the silent disco on the Brink. Jan Gerbrand Krol is the new director of the TT Festival and that means changes.
Quite relaxed, Krol stands at the fair and looks around. The TT fair will open tomorrow, but something has to be done before then. Born and raised in Assen, Krol is not worried, just like he is not about the TT Festival. “That will all work out, we are ready. All the big dots have been put on the i.”
It is striking that this year again the bumper cars are missing at the fair. “We opt for other attractions. Moreover, the bumper cars take up a lot of space. But the range is large. There are attractions for children, adults and for the daredevils.”
In October, the organization started making plans. Krol became director in November. “I am now very proud when I see what is in the city and on the entire program for next week. When I was appointed, I was immediately asked: ‘Is the Ferris wheel coming back to the city?’ We immediately started to arrange that. In addition, I think it is very nice that the motorsport entertainment program is returning to the city.”
Tomorrow the TT week will start with the TT Run, the opening of the fair and a parade through the city. “I’m very curious about that, because we’re starting big right away,” he said earlier in the Radio Drenthe program cassata. As an Assenaar who always visited the festival, he knows what the TT Festival should look like. That is why he is extra happy that the range of motorsport has been expanded.
“On Friday evening, Dutch trial champion Luc Branten will give demonstrations. In addition, supermotard drivers will race. And on Saturday evening, Rolderstraat and Javastraat will literally change into a cyclists’ quarter that you can walk through. Here, the drivers for the moped sprint competitions prepare.”
Krol already has the necessary experience in organizing festivals. But a free festival in a city center is an extra challenge. “It almost seems that we do the same thing every year, but we run into the challenges of the city every year. Moreover, Assen is changing. The main stage used to be on Koopmansplein, but that has been renewed. As a result, the main stage has moved to Weiersstraat. It means that we have to make a new scenario every year and hand in plans for safety and traffic flows. But the TT Festival is so embraced by the city, nobody wants to lose it.”
The Assenaar is looking forward to the tens of thousands of people who will come to the city center next week. “That will be a goosebumps moment, when everything here is full. I will walk through the city during the evenings and nights, we will have to arrange the last things and I will also check for safety from the town hall. When it is successful? If I see all those happy people in town.”