Last week it was announced by the caretaker cabinet that event organisers can begin preparing for concerts, festivals, sports matches and congresses from July 1.

A special guarantee fund of €385m has been set up to cover the cost of event cancellations due to coronavirus measures. This gives organisers peace of mind that they won’t be out of pocket in the instance of cancellation. Previously arranged events can be rescheduled to a date from July 2021 to qualify.

This applies to events organised between 1st July and 31st December 2021, does not include new events being held for the first time, nor events which have not taken out cancellation insurance in the past. Paid football and the Formula 1 race in Zandvoort are also not covered by the scheme. The fund will pay 80% of costs as a gift and the balance as a repayable loan.

The money is to cover the costs that organisations incur for logistics, safety and personnel, for example, if the festival is canceled. The scheme does not apply to the payment of fees to foreign artists.

The government was urged to set up this fund by the events sector as most insurance companies that cover against cancellation have excluded coronavirus in their policies.

Junior economics affairs minister Mona Kijzer said ‘Our events sector sets the international standard and we want to keep it that way. Not only organisers but audiences are longing for a concert, a festival, a football match.’

Regional safety board chief Hubert Bruls said ‘You cannot continue to ban everything, People need perspective.’

It is hoped that this fund will take the uncertainty of extra incurred costs due to the pandemic away from event organisers, so they can get back to work organising events that we can all enjoy again in the summer.

Source: nu.nl

Photo: Tomorrowland festival