The Netherlands have put together a €300 million insurance fund to support festival organisers in case they have to cancel as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Dutch festival season has been given the green light for the summer of 2021 thanks to a €300 million insurance fund introduced by the government that will cover organisers in case they have to cancel their events as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The insurance will be applicable to festivals that attract a minimum of 3,000 visitors from July 1 2021 onwards until the end of the year. Before then, Dutch culture minister Ingrid van Engelshoven reasoned, it would not be “reasonable” to expect “masses can stand close together on a field”.

She added, “[This fund] is a dot on the horizon for festival organisers. They can fall back on the guarantee fund in which at least €300m has been reserved. The event industry has long come to a standstill due to Corona. Guarantee is needed to get it back on track.”

One of the first to respond to the good news was Dutch drum ‘n’ bass festival Liquicity – one of the few events in the Netherlands to offer ticket refunds during last year’s neverending string of cancellations and postponements. 

They wrote on their website, “Great news: the Dutch government has announced that they aim to allow festivals after July 1st! In case festivals still get cancelled due to changing Covid circumstances, organisers are likely to be compensated for the costs. Festivals in The Netherlands are currently selling out in record pace due to this new government announcement.”

The insurance will also apply for festivals like Awakenings Festival and DGTL, who have moved their usual spring and early-summer dates to the second half of the year. Awakenings is currently set to run from September 11th – 12th, with tickets already sold out. 

DGTL Amsterdam has bookmarked the same weekend, featuring artists including Eris Drew, DJ Python, Ricardo Villalobos and Afrodeutsche on the line-up. Unsurprisingly, stubs are flying off the proverbial shelf and most of the tickets are also already sold out. 

With several other festivals currently confirmed across Europe and the UK, it looks like we can be hopeful that the summer of 2021 may not be a total wash-out after all!