The curtain falls on a Gent jazz: The non-profit organization behind Gent Jazz filed for bankruptcy this week. The corona crisis, a mountain of debt and an absent sting have dealt the deathblow to the popular holiday. The future of Jazz Middelheim is also very uncertain.
On Tuesday, the company court declared non-profit Jazz en Muziek bankrupt. This is the organization that organizes the annual Gent Jazz and Jazz Middelheim. “The game is bankrupt,” confirms Diederik Vernimmen, chairman of the board of the association. “I can’t and won’t say more until I’m able to speak to the new curator.”
Bertrand Flamang, who was the driving force and face of Ghent Jazz for twenty years, certainly doesn’t care. His disappearance from the board a few months ago may have been the writing on the wall.
Debts
Buena Vista Social Club, Toots Thielemans, BB King, Chick Corea, Grace Jones, Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock, Bryan Ferry, Lady Gaga… The list of world famous artists who visited Ghent in the last twenty years thanks to Ghent Jazz it’s long and impressive.
But Gent Jazz has been on a rough patch for several years. The two-year corona crisis and the malaise with The passage of Sting, which he deleted twice, cut into it. Sting tickets had to be refunded, first time due to corona and second time due to illness.
In the vicinity of the organization it is heard that the debt pit had become too deep, there would be 700,000 euros. “And there was also another loan of the same size,” says someone close to the file.
Successor
The city of Ghent was notified of the bankruptcy on Thursday by the board of the non-profit association. After all, Ghent has paid €260,000 in subsidies to the festival every year. “This means a great loss for the cultural prestige of our city,” says Sami Souguir (Open VLD), Councilor for Culture.
As a result, the non-profit association Jazz en Muziek has received guarantees for the subsidy until 2024. But now that the non-profit organization has gone bankrupt and the sum has been released, Souguir is already looking for a successor, at least if the amount remains in the budget until 2025.
Jazz Middleheim
Failure is not only the sad final agreement for Gent Jazz, but also the future of that other festival organized by the non-profit association, Jazz Middelheim in Antwerp, now appears highly uncertain.
It was also announced in June that the non-profit organization Jazz en Muziek would have to do without its €300,000 Flemish grant for five years. Since the 41st Jazz Middelheim last summer, the second stage at Castle Den Brandt was therefore canceled at the last minute. With an atypical eye-catcher like Iggy Pop, 15,000 spectators visited the festival in four days. In the heyday of Jazz Middelheim, twice as many people showed up with ease.
The city of Antwerp grants the festival a grant of 250,000 euros per year. “This news is not entirely unexpected, as we knew that jazz and music had already had some difficult years,” replies Antwerp councilor for culture Nabilla Ait Daoud. “We do everything we can to keep Jazz Middelheim alive, which is an iconic festival in Antwerp and a fixture on the city’s music calendar. Together with the other parties involved – the VRT, the Flemish government and the curator – the city will see how to proceed”.
The disappearance of the non-profit association Jazz en Muziek need not lead to the disappearance of Jazz Middelheim. The fact that the license for the festival is held by the VRT offers perspective. All the more so as both the public broadcaster and the city of Antwerp benefit from maintaining such an international and prestigious festival. For interested parties, the time has come to look for a new organizer or organizational form. It was already announced on the Jazz Middelheim website that the 2023 edition would take place from August 12th to 15th, but we can already draw a line for that date.
