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The Danish government has announced a DKK 500 million (€67.2m) safety net for festivals and major events, allowing organisers to plan for this summer without the financial risk posed by a potential Covid outbreak.
The safety net will cover organisers of recurring events with at least 350 participants (such as music festivals, super league matches, conferences and markets), as well as events that were planned before 6 March 2020, but will not include new events created during the pandemic.
The scheme is a ‘continuation and simplification’ of the existing organiser scheme and will cover eligible events between 1 May and 30 September 2021 in the event that the Covid-19 situation results in the cancellation, postponement or significant changes to an event.
The full agreement, which must be approved by the European Commission, includes a ‘compensation ladder’ which provides organisers with an estimation of what they can expect to receive in compensation and deliver on to suppliers.
“Festival organisers can continue to plan with peace of mind”
In addition to the safety net, the agreement also includes an emergency pool of DKK 30m for bankruptcy-threatened large charitable music festivals, which each year distribute their profits to charitable causes.
“We all hope for a summer where the infection situation allows us to gather for festivals again,” says minister for culture, Joy Mogensen. “Until then, the festival organisers can continue to plan soundly with peace of mind. With the agreement, we ensure that festivals will be compensated if they have to cancel due to restrictions.”
Esben Marcher, head of Denmark’s live music association, Dansk Live, says: “It is positive that there is now a financial safety net for the festivals, so that the organisers can complete the preparation of this summer’s festivals. We will, of course, follow the implementation of the agreement closely. However, we still need clarification on whether there will be restrictions this summer, and which scenarios we must plan based on.”
Last week, Denmark’s ‘restart team’ submitted a catalogue of recommendations on the reopening of the cultural and sports sectors to the ministry of culture for government approval.
Denmark is the latest market to announce an event cancellation fund, taking note from Germany’s €2.5bn pot, Austria’s €300m ‘protective umbrella’, the Netherlands’ €300m fund, Belgium’s €60m festival cancellation pot and Norway’s €34m festival safety net.
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Denmark’s minister for culture will propose to the parliamentary parties a compensation scheme for festival organisers, taking note from Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Belgium.
Minister Joy Mogensen says the scheme would be similar to the one implemented by the government last summer, but this time would “extend far into the summer and be approved in the EU”.
Last year’s government compensation scheme covered organisers of events with more than 1,000 participants, or 500 participants if the event is targeted at special risk groups, between the months of March and June.
Mogensen previously mentioned a deadline date of 1 March to give festival organisers a verdict on whether the summer season could go ahead in some capacity, but now says she cannot confirm a date until she gets approval from the Danish government.
“We will start the technical briefing of the culture rapporteurs this afternoon [25 February],” Mogensen told Politiken. “Then we will continue to have a dialogue with the European Commission, so that we can reach our goals quickly.”
Mogensen says that the scheme would be adapted to ensure that, this time, subcontractors would not be left in the lurch
Mogensen says that the scheme would be adapted to ensure that, this time, subcontractors would not be left in the lurch if restrictions meant the 2021 festival season is cancelled.
Last year, Denmark’s Roskilde Festival, Live Nation Denmark, Smukfest, Tinderbox and NorthSide penned an open letter appealing for political support for the restart of festivals this summer and outlining the consequences if the events of 2021 are cancelled.
In the months since, the ministry for culture has assembled a ‘restart team’, which has been provided with DKK 50 million to develop new event formats that could be safely implemented in the spring.
This week, outdoor cultural institutions nationwide were permitted to reopen with a capacity limit of 25 people, though the government’s group of health experts has recommended a full reopening, facilitated by Covid-19 testing and health passports.
Earlier this month, Denmark’s acting minister of finance, Morten Bødskov, announced in a press conference that digital Coronavirus passports will be ready for use in three to four months but will initially apply only to travel.
Government-backed insurance funds will be explored at ILMC during Insurance: The Big Update. Register for an ILMC 33 delegate pass here.
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