Manja Kerstholt, the director of the Utrecht Liberation Festival, walks through the mud of the Utrecht Park Transwijk. There is now a thick layer of water on the grass where visitors come to jump on Sunday to the sounds of artists such as Claude, De Bankzitters and Rolf Sanchez. Where food trucks have to drive over, the sand has turned into a mud puddle. The director checks Rain Radar and all those other rain apps every hour, even though she knows there is no point. Because a thunderstorm can just pass by the park. And because constantly checking future showers does not help prevent them. “But I do it anyway,” she says. “Because the weather is now actually decisive for the future of Liberation Festivals.”
This is the math. A clear blue sky above Utrecht is expected to attract around 40,000 visitors. On average, they drink about three drinks and eat something. The sun makes them stay longer and consume more. But when it rained and blew heavily in Utrecht last year at the start of the festival, there were only 3,000 people on the site. And it was already an edition that could only just go ahead due to financial concerns. Eventually the sun did shine, which resulted in a total of 27,000 visitors showing up. But the festival did suffer a loss, which was ultimately covered by one of the sponsors. In the form of a loan, so now there is a debt.
Free liberation festivals are having a hard time financially. The costs for festivals have increased since corona: prices went up, security guards are more expensive, arranging permits due to nitrogen emissions costs money. And those who do not have ticket sales to offset those rising costs are therefore more at risk. Especially because the number of beers sold remains mainly dependent on the sun.
That is why a one-off contribution of a total of 1 million euros was made from the government at the beginning of this year, following an adopted motion by VVD MP Pim van Strien. The fourteen Liberation Festivals in the Netherlands – almost all non-profit foundations – have also been supported for years with subsidies from municipalities and provinces.
However, according to the festivals, the one-off additional contribution from The Hague is not enough. Without structural, national support, the free festivals cannot continue to exist in the long term. This is what the festivals of Zwolle and Utrecht and Roermond mayor Yolanda Hoogtanders (VVD), the city where the national starting signal is being given this year, say. All three think it is important that the festivals remain free, so that they are accessible to everyone.
But this year too, rainfall is causing problems before May 5. This week, unprecedented storms broke out in the host city of Roermond: downpours, hail and thunder. According to Mayor Hoogtanders, this immediately led to additional costs. Part of the stage had to be rebuilt and the excess water pumped out.
The municipality of Roermond and the province are each supporting the festival this year for more than €100,000. Hoogtanders: “Freedom is not self-evident and is sometimes even fought for. That is why Liberation Festivals are very important. And the risk of bad weather is now passed on to those same festivals.” She thinks it is nonsense to say that Liberation Festivals, which cannot break even without significant subsidies, apparently have too little support. “We see that tens of thousands of people come there, unless the weather is very bad. It is too important, that is why the government must help the festivals.”
The festival in Transwijk park is being built in Utrecht.
Photos: Dieuwertje Bravenboer
Peanuts
Hans Laroes, board member of the Liberation Festival in Zwolle, says that “four to six” festivals would have collapsed this year if The Hague had not made the million available. According to him, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) hints in the discussions that it will provide structural support to the festivals. “But a million a year for fourteen festivals is not enough. We really need more.” Laroes says that the requested amount for the central government “peanuts”. “Especially when you realize what this is all about. Namely: attention to freedom, which is perhaps more under pressure than ever due to the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.”
According to the organizers, it is a myth that the money mainly goes to artists, they charge a reduced rate. The famous helicopter, with which singers are flown from one festival to another, will also not be deducted from the budget: Defense will pay for it.
The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport has announced that the department believes that festivals should primarily be financed from society and communities. Because festivals would otherwise collapse, a one-off contribution has been made to deal with acute financial problems. The ministry says it cannot yet make a statement about structural financing, and says that no commitments have yet been made about this.
In the Transwijk park in Utrecht, two men in shorts and sturdy work boots are pressing fences in the grass on Friday afternoon, just in front of the main stage. These two “men of the site”, as everyone calls them, build and dismantle the entire festival. One of them, Robert Goedegebuure, says he will be busy “maybe until midnight.” He also hopes for support from The Hague. “We all say how important we find these kinds of things, but I often get the feeling that when it comes to money we are at the bottom of the pecking order.”
The result, director Manja Kerstholt sees, is that everyone is mainly concerned with money all the time. “Where can I still raise money? When is it coming? Can I request a deferment of payment? We hardly get around to what I think it’s all about: creating a nice substantive program.” She will try to let go of that feeling on Sunday. “And of course, bright sunshine helps a bit with that.”
To share
Email the editor
