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Netherlands scraps capacity limit for seated shows
There will be no upper capacity limit for events in the Netherlands from 1 July, provided fans take pre-entry health checks and a 1.5 metre distancing rule is observed
By IQ on 25 Jun 2020
Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced the relaxed measures on 24 June
image © Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken/Flickr
The Netherlands is relaxing its coronavirus regulations from 1 July, removing the capacity limit for seated indoor and outdoor events, provided fans have undergone health checks before entry.
The Dutch government announced the new measures yesterday (24 June), which include the retention of the one-and-a-half metre distancing rule at all events.
Reservations must also be made for events to enable contact tracing in the case of a new outbreak of the virus.
Festivals in the Netherlands will have to obtain licences from local authorities before being able to resume, which is unlikely to happen before mid-August.
The capacity limit for events that do not undertake health checks will increase to 100 for indoor venues and 250 for outdoor shows from 1 July.
“For us, the 1.5 metre society is not the new normal; the wider regulations are still hardly or not at all viable and not cost-effective for our industry”
Nightclubs and discos remain closed until 1 September – which was the original deadline for the ban on large-scale events. The rules for clubs and similar venues will be reassessed at the end of August.
The Dutch association of event makers (Vereniging van evenementenmakers – VVEM) welcomes the relaxations, but states it is “not yet satisfied”, stressing the need for a roadmap detailing when business as usual can resume.
“This is a good start, but we are not there yet,” says Rotterdam Ahoy’s Jolanda Jansen on behalf of the VVEM. “For us, the 1.5 metre society is not the new normal; the wider regulations are still hardly or not at all viable and not cost-effective for our industry. This is still going to cost companies, jobs and events.”
In particular, the organisation is lobbying for a removal of the distancing rule, which it says should be replaced with more testing and tracing.
Photo: Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken/Flickr (CC-BY SA 2.0) (cropped)
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