Good year for Liberation Day festivals; Support still needed

Sunday’s sunny weather resulted in successful free Liberation Day festivals, according to a survey by the ANP of the celebrations in Zwolle, Groningen, Haarlem, and Amsterdam. The festivals stressed that a good year does not mean that structural financial support from the government is no longer necessary.

Only Groningen had a somewhat disappointing turnout. The flow of visitors started a little late because it rained until 1:00 p.m., said Ebel Jan van Dijk, director of the Groningen Liberation Festival. The organization expected 80,000 visitors but received 50,000. According to him, it is still too premature to say anything about the effect of the costs on next year's edition. "Despite the turnout, we had a very nice festival. The atmosphere was good, and we were able to celebrate freedom in a powerful way," said Van Dijk.

According to board member Hans Laroes, Zwolle was busy all day and received a total of 135,000 visitors. “The audience was varied and cheerful, and it was really good festival weather,” said Laroes. Zwolle has also not yet mapped out the financial final picture, but Laroes said they can think about the next edition “without too much stress.”

Anita de Hart, a board member of the Haarlem Liberation Festival, spoke of a "fantastic" festival. A total of 143,000 visitors attended the celebration, almost the maximum capacity. It remained busy until the end, which, according to De Hart, was partly because Chef'Special was the last to perform. “I can't say yet what this means for next year because we don't know the exact revenues and expenses yet, but I can say that this was the best scenario we could have imagined.”

It was also “very” busy in the capital. “It was a madhouse,” said Per Meijer, director of the Amsterdam liberation festival Het Vrije Westen. “We have some fat on our bones again, but it is not the case that we can now cope with a completely rained-out edition,” said Meijer. The Amsterdam festival hopes to count on support from the national government next year.

This year, the government came to the rescue for the first time with 1 million euros. The festivals want structural support. Het Vrije Westen is not one of the official festivals, so it did not receive a share of this year’s money.