Marchers demand return of Dutch music festivals

Published August 22, 2021
Thousands of fans of music festivals stage protests in Amsterdam against the government’s Covid-19 restrictions on large-scale outdoor events. — AP
Thousands of fans of music festivals stage protests in Amsterdam against the government’s Covid-19 restrictions on large-scale outdoor events. — AP

AMSTERDAM: Dutch music fans have been banned for months from going to large-scale festivals due to coronavirus restrictions. On Saturday, the festivals came to them.

Hundreds of performers and festival organisers held marches through six Dutch cities on Saturday to protest what they argue are unfair restrictions that have forced the cancellation of summer music festivals and other events.

Thousands of people attended one of the Unmute Us marches in Amsterdam, walking and dancing behind a convoy of trucks carrying DJs and sound systems pumping out music. Leonie der Verkleij, a freelancer who works in hospitality services at events, was among those marching in Amsterdam.

The festival industry feels like an unwanted child, she said. It feels like all sectors are important except ours.

Amsterdam municipality appealed mid-afternoon for no more people to join the march as it was too crowded.

The Dutch government has banned large-scale events such as festivals until at least Sept 19 amid fears over the spread of the highly infectious delta variant. One-day events with a maximum of 750 visitors are allowed for people with a Covid-19 app showing they have been vaccinated, have recently tested negative or have recovered from a case in the past six months.

Organisers of Saturday’s protest want the ban lifted on Sept 1. They point to overseas events and the return of crowds to soccer stadiums with proof of vaccination, recovery from Covid-19 or a negative test as evidence that people can congregate in large numbers without infection numbers surging.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.