Complaints about the festival are raining on social media The Amsterdam Summer in the Olympic Stadium. Yesterday was the first night of the two-day event and according to visitors, everything went wrong at the bar: long lines, slow staff, broken ATMs and the wine ran out by mid-evening. The organizers, including Bas Smit and Nicolette van Dam, apologize for the problems.
A visitor to the festival, with performances by Tino Martin, Gerald Joling and Trijntje Oosterhuis, says that the lines for the bars outside the stadium were already very busy, but that it was even worse inside. “We waited half an hour for fries and then gave up. The line to get a drink also lasted over an hour. Then it was your turn and the payment machines did not work and the bottles of wine were already available at 8.30 pm on.”
According to the visitor, the bar staff appeared unprofessional. “The lines weren’t even that long, but it was so slow. The people behind the bar all had to ask each other about how something worked or where something was. You pay a lot of money for a ticket, then you expect to get in. have your drinks in fifteen minutes.” He paid 70 euros for his ticket.
“What a Horror”
The Facebook page of De Amsterdamse Zomer also receives many reactions to the event. “What a horror. We were so looking forward to the evening, but after standing in line twice for more than half an hour for drinks, we had used up a lot and left the site. Very sad for the young barmaids, who were crying behind the bar because nothing worked.”
Another writes: “Never experienced such a poorly organized festival. Expensive ticket, really looking forward to it. The drink was gone, standing in line for an hour for your drink. Not normally so bad. Missed half the evening due to standing in line drink for you.”
“Staff didn’t show up”
“Like you, we are disappointed in the course of this edition of De Amsterdamse Zomer due to the crowds at the drinking and dining facilities”, the organization writes in a response to the visitors. “Unfortunately, we had to deal with factors that we could not resolve, such as over a third of the bar staff who did not show up and a pin malfunction. Our sincere apologies.”
Tonight is the second night of the festival and the organization is doing its best so that everything goes well this time. “We are working hard to get everything in order for today as you are used to from us.” They do, however, make another call: “If you fancy a bar service, you know where to find us.”