More than three hundred event organizations will take to the streets on Saturday 21 August to demonstrate against the corona policy of the outgoing cabinet. In a protest march called ‘Unmute Us!‘ they want to send out a signal: “It can’t go on like this any longer, we won’t let ourselves be silenced”.
Participating organizations include those behind festivals Lowlands, DGTL, Best Kept Secret and Strafwerk. The latter organization says in a press release that it has its “back against the wall”. “During the recent press conferences, festivals were once again not given the green light, despite the promise that they could take place again when everyone who wants to has been vaccinated. That moment is now, but the promise has been officially broken.”
The sector requires a clear plan for the future with measurable agreements. The event organizations also want more attention to be paid to the “emotional condition of the many visitors and makers who do not feel heard”.
Disappointed reactions
Festival organizations are also disappointed in tonight’s decision on social media. For example, the organization of Zomerkabinet is forced to move the planned festival on 4 and 5 September to next year. The organization had to do the same at the beginning of July with another festival, Dekmantel, which was planned at the beginning of August.
“It is a painful disappointment and a direct financial threat to our small, independent organization, as it is to many organizations in this sector and the cultural world in general,” the organization said. in a statement on Instagram know. Easter doll, which was also planned for early September, writes on Instagram: “Today, inky clouds are sliding in front of our rainbow. Our dream is still shattering.”
Earlier it was announced that multi-day festivals could no longer take place. For Lowlands that meant the set designers on site had to pull the pegs out of the ground again, the barrier tape was rolled up and the Bravo tent could be flat again:
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