Dutch venues receive grants for Covid-proofing

Almost 60 Dutch music venues have received grants from the Kickstart Culture Fund to help operators adapt to the logistics of coronavirus restrictions.

The newly established fund, which has collected more than €16 million, has awarded grants ranging between €5,000–€100,000 to 418 cultural institutions in the Netherlands including theatres, concert halls, producers and museums.

Among the 58 music venues that received grants are Amsterdam venues Paradiso (cap. 1,750) and Milky Way (1,500) which each received the maximum grant of €100,000.

According to the submitted plans, Milky Way plans to use the grant to increase hygiene measures and signage; hire more staff; introduce cashless payment systems; adapt backstage areas, and add seating facilities in the halls.

Among the 58 music venues that received grants are Amsterdam venues Paradiso and Milky Way

Paradiso also plans to hire additional staff using the grant, and launch Paradiso Accounts to keep track of visitors’ data.

Other recipients include The Royal Concert Hall in Amsterdam (€100,000); Poppodium 013 in Tilburg (€95,188); De Helling in Utrecht (€45,000) and Poppodium Bird in Rotterdam (€68,520). See the full list here.

Kickstart Culture Fund is an initiative of BankGiro Loterij (the national postcode lottery) and a number of private funds.

Music venues and theatres were recently restricted to a maximum of 30 visitors for indoor, seated events, when the nation went into a partial lockdown on 14 October.

The Dutch government is currently considering closing a host of cultural spaces for two weeks from Thursday.

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