Free liberation festivals are having a hard time financially, even though the government has provided assistance for the first time this year with an amount of 1 million euros. This is evident from a tour by the ANP to various festivals.
The liberation festivals in Groningen, Zwolle, Amsterdam and Haarlem have announced that organizing a free festival is risky due to the weather, because they largely rely on the consumption of guests on the day itself. In addition, they receive money from sponsors, the municipality, the province and now also the national government.
Uncertainty has increased since corona due to expenditure already incurred, increased production costs and sustainability of the festivals, such as the recycling tokens for cups.
“We have few buttons to turn to increase income,” explains Ebel Jan van Dijk, director of the Groningen liberation festival. According to him, the weather is of “essential importance” because visitors do not have a ticket and therefore find it easier to stay at home. Last year the weather was so bad that Groningen had to shut down the festival for a few hours.
This Friday, the organization of the Liberation Festival in Groningen will hold a Rubber Duck Race. The ‘Rubber Duck Race for Freedom’ is intended as an action to raise money for the festival itself, so that there is enough money for next year’s edition.
On Friday afternoon, the organization will launch 6,000 rubber ducks in the Papiermolen. Beforehand, people can buy a duck for 5 euros. For this purpose, a duckling, with a corresponding number, is launched into the water. The buyer of the winning duck wins the grand prize. In addition, there are more than forty other prizes to be won. If you want to buy a rubber duck for the race, you can do so here.
A summary of the race will be shown on Sunday evening on the Main Stage of the Liberation Festival and the winners will be announced.
The 1 million euros from the government was needed to get the festivals started at all after last year’s losses. Board member Hans Laroes of the Zwolle liberation festival is sitting at the table during the discussions in The Hague about the liberation festivals and is “hopeful”. He explains that the 1 million was a first step and that structural agreements must now be made between the government and the festivals about financing for the next three to five years. In addition, there must be a structural agreement on how to provide assistance in the event of bad weather, for example.
