The nightlife in Haarlem is far too limited, according to three Haarlem friends. They therefore take matters into their own hands, and therefore start organizing themselves. “Certainly now that all corona restrictions have been removed for a while, it is noticeable that there is so little to do in Haarlem. But it has been going on for years, the nightlife is getting smaller and smaller in Haarlem. It is a kind of snowball effect, we want that. turn around now,” says Benjamin van de Hulst. Because he will soon be organizing their first party together with friends Killian Popken and Manon Spronk.
Under the name ‘Lola’, the three Haarlemmers want to organize parties at unique locations, each time somewhere different in the city. “We really want to organize something throughout Haarlem, so not just in the center. Especially in Noord and Schalkwijk, for example,” says Killian Popken.
“There are plenty of places where something is possible and we are going to try to arrange that,” he continues. They mainly want to organize something in unusual places, but also in locations that were used a lot for parties, but now less and less, such as the site at the Lichtfabriek. “You have to think of, for example, restaurants and churches.” He dreams of one day organizing a party in the Grote or St. Bavokerk on the Grote Markt.
Bad name
“I was at a student party this weekend with fifty people. Not even ten of them went to the city. They don’t like it enough here in Haarlem anymore,” says Manon. According to her, it is not necessarily that the current offer is not nice enough, it is more the bad name of Haarlem. “The disappearance of things like Stalker and Malfunction doesn’t help either,” she adds.
Benjamin agrees with Manon: “Almost none of my friends go out in Haarlem. Compared to other cities there is also very little offer. Alkmaar already has more than double the offer.” He’s not quite sure why that is. “Yes, we are close to Amsterdam. But I think that less people go out in Haarlem is mainly because there is less offer. And that is in turn because fewer people go out ..”, says Benjamin.
Regulations
According to the three Haarlemmers, the fact that there is little has also to do with regulations. “We hear from many people that it is very difficult in Haarlem, yes,” says Killian. Some locations that they have approached also indicate that they do not want to cooperate for that reason. “They say they are afraid of losing their license, or they don’t like applying for a separate license for a party.”
“The municipality mainly thinks in problems, we in solutions,” says Manon. The plan of the three friends is to try as much as possible and create something beautiful within the rules. “Maybe after working with us a few times, the municipality will become easier,” hopes Manon. Killian indicates that something also needs to change at the municipality, but that they do not want to wait for it. “If it continues like this, the night in Haarlem will die out,” Killian adds.
“It is also a bit skewed that a lot is allowed for other types of events,” says Benjamin. He thinks Haarlem is really a family city. “There is plenty to do for the ‘yuppies’ with their cargo bikes”, Benjamin shouts. Killian adds: “The figures also show that the young people are leaving Haarlem, in our opinion that has certainly to do with the limited night offer.”