With one month to go until May 5, Van Gelder stepped in. He has made the choice to start all over again. “You know, I’ve come to the conclusion that you spend more time digging into that stuff and finding some line in it. If it’s unfinished and you’re dealing with fifty parts, including 46 bands, then you can better start over. I did that.” The only challenge was that this time Van Gelder only had a month to do it and not eight months as in the past. “Night work? You can say that. The more chaos, the more driven I become. So night work. It doesn’t go out in my head either. You can also call it insanity, I don’t run from that. I don’t let it get lost go. Well, then you’re not sleeping.”
Van Gelder works schematically to get everything done in that short period of time. “It helps. The more clear it becomes, the more you can tick off. You just have to tick off a lot in a short time.” Thanks to the help of his team and external parties from the province, it was finally done again. And the interim festival director thinks it’s nice to experience. “I am approaching the end of my career, but I have never experienced that pressure was shared at a given moment. Every party, board and partners, everyone realizes that it is two to twelve. Then apparently forces are released.” As an example, he mentions the social media team, which, among other things, takes care of the website. “That site has never been as complete as it is now. My job is to get behind everyone’s pants and make sure it goes well. And we succeeded.”
In a short time everything turned out well. We are currently working hard to set up the festival. “We have had a fantastic edition again and financially things have been put in order again. Strange but true, everything is fluid under time pressure, the festival is more complete than in recent years.” For example, there are nine substantive projects, according to Van Gelder more than ever.
Financially, the festival works with a budget of around 280,000 euros. The festival is free to visit, so money must be used wisely, says Van Gelder. He mentions the companies that were approached for the Liberation Festival Drenthe as an example. “It seemed as if the same mistake was made again, that had to be corrected. You do need entrepreneurs who feel something for the Liberation Festival. It is a non-commercial festival, entrepreneurs must have a feeling for it. We had a whole series of entrepreneurs who has been supplying for years, for prices that are affordable for us.And if you unexpectedly with perhaps the best of intentions, it may be ignorance, and you approach other parties who are simply commercially involved, then you pay the top prize. corrected.”
This tenth edition includes performances by Suzan and Freek, Blokkers, Van Dik Hout and Kraantje Pappie. There are also substantive projects and a children’s square. “It is very diverse, filling day and evening.” Van Gelder is proud of the arrival of Kraantje. “I remember very well, about fifteen years ago we gave him fifty euros to come, now he is an AAA artist. Very good.” It is a diverse program, says the director. “Van Dik Hout has been around for twenty years, that’s a concept.” The closure is in the hands of Bökkers, from half past ten to twelve o’clock. “They also break things down,” laughs Van Gelder. “It’s one of our best line-ups ever and I have to include Hebert in that too, because the foundation was really with him. It didn’t all go wrong.”
Liberation Day is extra special this year due to the situation in Ukraine. “It is sometimes a misconception that young people think: fun, a free festival. But it is about the content.” Freedom cannot be taken for granted, says Van Gelder. “It is the objective of this festival: not only the music, but also the content.” The school project, in which schools are visited, already focused on Ukraine. “There is so much more.” The festival starts at 12 noon, the freedom fire is lit at half past one.