If mass events are really only allowed again in a year or more, as Minister De Jonge of Health reported this morning, this means the end of the sector as it stands now. That is what the Amsterdam Events Association (EVA) predicts. ‘A lot of companies will go bankrupt or stop. The landscape changes completely. ‘
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The association, which brings together more than thirty Amsterdam event organizers and suppliers, warned earlier this week that 65 percent of the events will not survive if there is no help from the government. “These new statements by the minister make things even more difficult,” says Wiecher Troost, chairman of EVA and co-organizer of festival Appelsap.
“It is a huge destruction of capital. So much has been invested in this sector, also in terms of knowledge. Sometimes it is good if a sector reinvents itself, but this would mean such a hard reset, ‘says Troost. “By the time something can be organized again, little will be left of the sector.”
Major uncertainties
But a small group of organizers will be able to survive without support next year, he expects. But also for them the question is whether their events can continue. For the time being, no insurer wants to insure the risk of a pandemic, which means that the financial risks are too great.
Troost: ‘And if the vaccine is available within the foreseeable future, it will take a while before everyone is vaccinated. Some will first want to see whether the vaccine has any side effects, so not everyone will be vaccinated immediately. ‘ It remains to be seen in what period a massive event can be held again.
Also because a large-scale event cannot be set up in the short term. ‘If it becomes clear on September 1 that a mass event is possible again, then you will not have it off the ground a few weeks later. It is a chain of employment agencies, artists, stage builders, you name it. ‘
Emergency plans
Organizers argue for emergency plans to be set up at European level. “It would be crazy if a big event could be organized in Germany and not here. Then the Dutch move there. ” They want a European support fund with a backup for insurers, so that risks can be minimized.
They also see possibilities in the latest statements by the minister. ‘Does an event of ten thousand people in an Amsterdam park have a national character’, Troost thinks aloud.
Behind the scenes, local events are considered: smaller in size and, for example, only aimed at people from (part of) the city. And with age limits and temperatures at the door, so that the 1.5-meter rule is not necessary. The caveat here is that it is not profitable to organize a festival for a hundred people, according to Troost that does not work.
‘Mass events’
According to a spokesman for the ministry, ‘massive events with a national character’ include paid football matches, large concerts and festivals. It is not known how many visitors may have reached the limit. However, the intention is that as of 1 July, a hundred people will be allowed again in concert halls and theaters.
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