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Shooting incident during festival at Rotterdam Ahoy

A man was seriously injured during a shooting at I Love Urban festival, which took place at Rotterdam Ahoy in the Netherlands, last weekend.

The incident took place around 4:30 am, as the 8,000-capacity festival was coming to a close, a spokesperson said, and several thousand people were still present at that time.

Two suspects, aged 20 and 31, both from Rotterdam, were arrested in the incident and the victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Rotterdam Ahoy announced that it is investigating the shooting incident and how the firearm could enter the building.

“We at Ahoy are very shocked by this situation,” a spokesperson said. “Our concern first and foremost goes out to victims and any employees involved and we will, in collaboration with the organiser, investigate how this could have happened.”

“We at Ahoy are very shocked by this situation”

In a separate incident at the festival, two more men were arrested – one for assaulting a police officer and the other for insulting the police. The first was shocked with a stun gun when he was arrested. According to the police, there is no link between these suspects and the shooting incident that took place earlier.

I Love Urban is organised by actor and comedian Jandino Asporaat. This edition featured artists including Frenna, Jonna Fraser, Bilal Wahib, Bizzey, Idaly, and Poke.

Ahoy said that safety has “our utmost attention… certainly also during upcoming events”. Sunday’s events at the venue were not affected.

It comes a month after the Amsterdam municipality introduced new regulations for event organisers in response to a murder at a local festival.

The new rules require events with a capacity of more than 2,000 people to halt ticket sales one day before the event takes place, among other things.

The restrictions come after a 21-year-old man was stabbed to death in May at Amsterdam-based techno and house festival Solid Grooves, organised by ID&T-backed Apenkooi.

 


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NL’s A State of Trance to relocate and expand

Armin van Buuren has announced ambitious plans to expand his Dutch festival, A State of Trance (ASOT).

The Dutch DJ revealed that the festival will leave its long-standing home in Utrecht and take up residency at Rotterdam Ahoy in 2024. This is partly due to the demolition of the largest stage in the event’s former home, Jaarbeurs.

Next year, the ALDA-promoted festival will see more than 70 artists performing across five stages and two days at the arena.

In addition to the usual night-time programme, various fringe activities will be organised in Rotterdam during the weekend, including demo sessions, masterclasses, panels, pre-parties and Q&As with artists. The temporary A State of Trance Hotel will be the hotspot of the weekend.

The move was announced on van Buuren’s A State of Trance radio show: “Utrecht has been a great home base for my A State of Trance events in the Netherlands for many years. We have all been able to make a lot of beautiful memories there; in 1993 I went to the Jaarbeurs for my very first rave and I also held Armin Only shows there.

“We often hear from fans that they would like an even broader ASOT experience, so we will really focus on that next year”

“But the large iconic space where our main stage used to be is unfortunately being demolished, so we had no choice but to look for a new home. We see a lot of possibilities at this new location and I can’t wait to continue building the future of A State of Trance in Rotterdam!”

Allan Hardenberg, CEO and co-founder of ALDA, adds: “The good cooperation with the city of Rotterdam is a great opportunity to further expand the A State of Trance brand and to enhance the experience for the visitor to an even higher level. We often hear from fans that they would like an even broader A State of Trance experience, so we will really focus on that next year with the addition of the day program and the A State of Trance Hotel.”

In other news, a new festival celebrating A State of Trance’s 20th anniversary is coming to London’s Dockyards this summer.

Van Buuren, ARGY, Ben Gold, Cosmic Gate, Gareth Emery, MORTEN, Pretty Pink, Solarstone and Vini Vici are some of the names set to play the 2 July event, which will feature three stages.

Organisers are expecting an audience of 20,000, making ASOT London the largest trance event in the city’s history.

 


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Mojo’s Woo Hah! festival adopts new name, location

Mojo’s Woo Hah! festival will return next year under a different name and in a new location.

The Dutch hip-hop event has been renamed Rolling Loud Rotterdam, and will take place in and around Rotterdam Ahoy between 30 June and 1 July 2023 with headliners Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott.

Woo Hah! festival was founded in 2014 by 013 and Live Nation’s Mojo, with the aim of bringing more major hip-hop acts to the Brabant region. In 2018, the event moved to its most recent site in Beekse Bergen.

For the 2022 edition, Woo Hah! joined forces with the world’s largest hip-hop festival franchise Rolling Loud, which also has a presence in the US, Canada, Portugal and soon to be Thailand.

Rolling Loud Rotterdam 2023 will reportedly host around 28 artist performances for 40,000 visitors each day.

Rotterdam Ahoy’s ability to host more attendees than the Beekse Bergen site was a big part of the draw according to Camiel Le Rutte, project manager festivals Mojo.

“First of all, there was a production problem on the Beekse Bergen site: lack of space. All festival visitors must be able to see the headliners on the main stage at the same time. That does not work with big names such as Kendrick Lamar, who sold out the Ziggo Dome twice in October. In addition, their show must meet high requirements in terms of sound, LED light, video walls and set pieces.”

Another important factor was that many of the Woo Hah! visitors came from Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Utrecht. “We see a longer future in Rotterdam. And thanks to the North Sea Jazz Festival, we are very familiar with Ahoy’s production possibilities.”

Jolanda Jansen, director of Rotterdam Ahoy, says: “In recent years, Ahoy has already proven itself as a perfect location for major events and we can’t wait to add Rolling Loud to this list. The international and culturally diverse character of this American festival fits perfectly with a city like Rotterdam.”

Rolling Loud founders Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif add: “Our first experience with the Dutch festival audience was one to remember. We love the energy you bring when you finally get to see your favourite artists live. We are ready to show the Netherlands the next step of everything Rolling Loud has to offer at the new location at Rotterdam Ahoy.”

 


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Rotterdam Ahoy’s RTM Stage up and running at last

Rotterdam Ahoy’s 7,819-cap music and entertainment venue RTM Stage is finally up and running after construction was completed during the 2020 lockdown.

The Dutch government announced in March that it was lifting all remaining restrictions on live events following tireless lobbying from the Netherlands’ live music sector.

RTM Stage can also be utilised as a mid-sized 4,000-cap arena in its ‘XL’ variant or as a 2,500-seater, making the venue is the largest theatre-sized venue in the Netherlands. The new concert hall forms part of a new development at the Ahoy that also includes the Rotterdam Ahoy Convention Centre (RACC).

After hosting Miss Montreal, RTM Stage has upcoming concerts by artists including Ghost, 5 Seconds of Summer, Keith Urban, Five Finger Death Punch with special guests Megadeth.

“It was a special time to open a new concert hall, but we are extremely proud of our complete expansion”

“It was a special time to open a new concert hall, but we are extremely proud of our complete expansion,” says Rotterdam Ahoy director Jolanda Jansen. “Everyone who enters RTM Stage is enthusiastic. You notice that people are happy with a new music stage in Rotterdam and in the Netherlands.

“With its different settings, RTM Stage is a unique mid-size arena in the Netherlands where concerts as well as events in theatre setting can take place. This is a concert hall with national and even international reach.

“Ahoy will always remain the sender of RTM Stage’s communications, but we have opted for a special appearance. Everyone should know that we have opened a new, trendy, state-of-the-art music hall and theatre!”

The existing Ahoy Arena (formerly the Sportpaleis), which dates from 1971, has a seated capacity of 16,426.

 


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Thousands attend Eurovision Song Contest 2021

Organisers have hailed as a success the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which, with 3,500 Covid-negative live music fans in attendance, was the biggest indoor pilot event held in the Netherlands to date.

The 2021 contest, the first since 2019, concluded at the 16,500-capacity Ahoy arena in Rotterdam on Saturday (22 May), with Italian band Måneskin crowned the winner for their song ‘Zitti e buoni’. In total, 26 countries made it to the final, with all but one (Iceland’s Daði og Gagnamagnið, one of whom tested positive for Covid-19) performing live from the arena on the night.

This year’s competition took the form of a pilot show, welcoming an in-person audience as part of the government-approved Back to Live series, coordinated by pan-industry body Fieldlab Events. To gain entry to the arena, everyone involved – including performers, fans, country delegations, press, staff and crew – had to register a negative Covid-19 test in the previous 48 hours, and then get tested again once on site at the dedicated Eurovision test pavilion (pictured).

Eurovision Test Pavilion

In addition, social distancing was enforced throughout the venue, while masks had to be worn whenever people moved around the arena (even performers on their way to the stage).

As a Fieldlab event, no persons deemed to be at risk, such as the elderly, were eligible to apply for tickets – which caused some controversy in the run-up to the show, with former Eurovision winner Getty Kaspers (of Teach-In) among those to criticise the ‘no over-70s’ rule.

“The Eurovision Song Contest is a turning point for me”

Among the fans who were successful in getting tickets, the atmosphere at the Ahoy was celebratory. “Everyone is decked out in flags and costumes with a lot of glitter,” one attendee, Deuss, tells public broadcaster NOS. “The atmosphere is cheerful and exuberant. People here feel that they are the lucky ones.”

Jolanda Jansen, director of Rotterdam Ahoy and a spokesperson for Fieldlab member Alliance of Event Builders, says seeing the arena full of staff and fans was her highlight of Eurovision week.

“The moment that moved me the most was seeing all our colleagues happy at work again,” she tells Tubantia. “We’ve come a long way; 2020 was a terrible year. We had to let 40% of the workforce go.

“The Eurovision Song Contest is a turning point for me. From now on it will only get better.”

According to Dutch economic minister, the provisional results from the second phase of Fieldlab/Back to Live events are positive. The full results, which follow the similarly positive findings from the first test events in February, will be announced in the near future.

 


This article forms part of IQ’s Covid-19 resource centre – a knowledge hub of essential guidance and updating resources for uncertain times.

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Eurovision Song Contest becomes Back to Live pilot

This year’s Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands will take place as a government-backed pilot event with a small in-person audience, a Dutch minister has announced.

Arie Slob, a minister for media under culture secretary Ingrid van Engelshoven, tells De Telegraaf that it will be possible to admit thousands of fans to Eurovision, which returns this spring after cancelling in 2020, by bringing the contest under Fieldlab Evenementen’s Back to Live, a series of pilot concerts, festivals and other live events which has been running since February. The most recent Back to Live events, two test festivals held at the Lowlands site in Biddinghuizen, took place on 20 and 21 March.

Currently, it is hoped a maximum of 3,500 people a day will be admitted to the 16,426-capacity Rotterdam Ahoy arena from 18 to 22 May, though plans are subject to change should the coronavirus situation deteriorate.

As with previous Back to Live trial events, fans will only be permitted to enter the Ahoy after testing negative for Covid-19.

“We welcome this decision by the Dutch government and the possibility that we can invite fans to join us”

In total, there will be nine shows, including rehearsals, for Eurovision 2021, the 65th edition of the pan-European song contest.

“We welcome this decision by the Dutch government and the possibility that we can invite fans to join us as we bring the Eurovision Song Contest back in May,” says Martin Österdahl, Eurovision’s executive supervisor.

“We will consider the options now available and announce more details in the coming weeks on how we can safely admit audiences to the Ahoy venue in Rotterdam should the situation allow. The health and safety of all those attending the event remains our top priority.”

“The fact that we now have the opportunity to plan for a Eurovision Song Contest with an audience again is something we could only dream of [previously],” the contest’s executive producer Sietse Bakker tells public broadcaster NOS. “We are grateful to the cabinet and to Fieldlab Evenementen for this perspective and the confidence they have placed in us.”

 


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Vrienden van Amstel becomes Netherlands’ biggest live stream

De Vrienden van Amstel (The Friends of Amstel), the long-running Dutch concert series, reached an estimated 1.7 million viewers from 120 countries for its first online-only edition, held on 16 January 2021.

Nicknamed ‘the largest pub in the Netherlands’, De Vrienden van Amstel is one of the country’s biggest concert events, usually attracting around 150,000 people to the Ahoy Rotterdam arena every year. The 2021 event – the first all-digital show in the series’ its 23-year history – became the biggest livestreamed show in Dutch history, with 750,000 people simultaneously streaming Armin van Buuren’s headline set, according to organisers.

The average simultaneous viewers throughout the entire show was 650,000, with fans watching over 1.3m hours of footage, reveals livestreaming partner Red Bee Media, who delivered the stream via www.vriendenstream.nl on behalf on Amstel, event agency Tribe Company and media production firm FabriQ Media Group.

“We are looking forward to delivering many events like this throughout 2021”

“When the largest pub in the Netherlands opens digitally for the first time, offering live entertainment from the biggest artists in country, you know that you can expect a lot of traffic on your platform”, says Tim Verhulsdonck, founder and managing partner of FabriQ Media Group. “With 650,000 tickets sold upfront, there is absolutely no room for mistakes, and after collaborating with Red Bee on SemiFest Live, we knew they were the right partner to deliver a flawless live stream to homes across the Netherlands and the world.

“Throughout the whole event they maintained a steady hand, delivering high-quality streams with no hiccups or interruptions.”

“I’m very happy that we were given the opportunity to showcase the full capacity of our OTT services through such a large-scale event as Vrienden van Amstel,” adds Steve Nylund, CEO of Red Bee Media. “The result truly shows the strength of our platform and our people, and we are looking forward to delivering many events like this throughout 2021 and beyond.”

 


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Rotterdam Ahoy’s RTM Stage completed

Rotterdam Ahoy has completed construction of its new 7,800-capacity music and entertainment venue, RTM Stage.

At maximum capacity, RTM Stage, which broke ground in late 2018, can be used a mid-sized arena, while in a theatre/auditorium format – 2,500 seats, or 4,000 in its ‘XL’ variant – the venue is the largest theatre-sized venue in the Netherlands.

The existing Ahoy Arena (formerly the Sportpaleis), which dates from 1971, has a seated capacity of 16,426.

RTM Stage forms part of a new development at the Ahoy (pictured) that also includes the Rotterdam Ahoy Convention Centre (RACC), which provides an additional 35 spaces to host conferences and gatherings, ranging from 50 to 100 capacity.

“We look forward to welcoming the visitors of the many conventions, events and concerts that will be held here”

The grand opening of the new building will be celebrated in 2021, commemorating 50 years since the Ahoy’s opening.

Jolanda Jansen, general director of Rotterdam Ahoy, says: “For us, as for everyone, this year turned out completely differently from what we had envisioned. Nevertheless, we are incredibly proud of the absolutely stunning new building that will welcome our visitors from now on. It is finally complete after years of preparation and construction and we are thrilled.

“We look forward to welcoming the visitors of the many conventions, events and concerts that will be held here. After all, that is what this building is for.”

“The expansion of Ahoy helps the city grow as a destination for business conventions and events,” comments Rotterdam city alderman (councillor) Bas Kurvers. “When the demand for such events starts to increase once more, Rotterdam will be ready.”

 


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Netherlands scraps capacity limit for seated shows

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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A new reality: Arenas talk reopening challenges

Strict hygiene protocols, contactless technology and fewer queues are likely to form the future of Europe’s arenas, as venue operators shun social distancing but nonetheless prepare to open to a changed reality.

Venue owners and event organisers across the continent have been grappling with new restrictions as many major markets around Europe begin to reopen, striving to strike the balance between providing a safe environment, maintaining financial viability and keeping their business alive.


Strict capacity limits and social distancing regulations have meant many venues have kept their doors closed, even if they are technically allowed to reopen.

With a current upper limit of 30 people at indoor events in the Netherlands, there is really “no model” for shows, Jurgen Hoekstra, manager of entertainment and sports at Rotterdam Ahoy tells IQ.

Hoekstra calculates that the Rotterdam Ahoy team could make an “attractive venue” operating at 30% capacity, maintaining 1.5 metres between guests, with a seating plan on the floor. But, really, “in our field of business, the aim is to let people enjoy experiences with a lot of others – the more people there are, the more special it is.

“We’re really dying to go back to the old normal.”

AEG Europe COO and Europe Arenas Association (EAA) president John Langford agrees that socially distanced shows are “financially and practically challenging – and in many cases impossible – for both venues and promoters”, although the early phase of recovery offers little other possibility than hosting events with lower capacities.

“We’re really dying to go back to the old normal”

“This scenario is however not viable or sustainable beyond just a handful of events.”

In the UK, Lucy Noble, artistic and commercial director of the Royal Albert Hall and chair of the National Arenas Association (NAA), says none of the venues she works with “can viably reopen while social distancing measures remain in place.”

Two-metre distancing would require using only 15% of the Hall’s full 8,000-person capacity, with a capacity of around 85% needed to make events financially viable.

So, what is the answer for venues? And how can they reopen while both keeping staff, artists and audience safe, and generating enough money to keep going?

A focus on a contactless customer journey, the use of protective gear, air filtering and upgraded hygiene protocols are among options listed by AEG Germany COO and VP Uwe Frommhold.

The allocation of time slots will also be important for “avoiding unnecessary mingling”, says Frommhold, whereas “tools to track down infection chains” are vital in case infection does spread at an event.

“It will be a combination of a lot of measures that will bring us back in business. There won’t be the sole game changer – not even a vaccine will do it alone.”

“It will be a combination of a lot of measures that will bring us back in business. There won’t be the sole game changer”

The AEG Europe team has also been working closely with ASM Global in the development of the VenueShield programme, a toolkit comprising best practice solutions that can be employed in response to public health guidance.

For Noble, a permanent move towards contactless payments and ticket scanning, as well as pre-booked food and drinks, will characterise the gig of the future.

The NAA has put together a proposal for the UK government which would allow venues to reopen at full capacity, including procedures such as heightened entrance and exit controls, increased sanitisation, the use of protective equipment and contactless service processes.

Noble gives the example of a production of the Phantom of the Opera, which has been running in Seoul, South Korea, throughout the Covid-19 crisis. The theatre used disinfectant mists, temperature checks and questionnaires to ensure safety standards were met.

“If we are to find a solution, it is going to be a combination of numerous measures, from increased access points to hand sanitisers, Perspex screens and PPE for staff,” says Noble.

Rotterdam Ahoy’s Hoekstra speaks of the possibility of repurposing space to allow for a wider variety of events in the short term.

With a variety of spaces at their disposal, including a 16,500-cap. arena, conference centre and exhibition halls, there is the possibility to host trade fairs and exhibitions at the venue, event formats which have seen some success in reopening so far.

“One thing we have to work really hard to preserve is the electric atmosphere when thousands of people experience live music together”

Even though restrictions in the Netherlands remain stringent – capacity limits are set at 30 until July, when they may be increased to 100 – Hoekstra hopes that signs of success in other markets, such as Switzerland, Denmark and Finland, may lead to a further lifting of measures.

“I am convinced that in the end that people will enjoy a show in a full arena again, as long as we can guarantee a safe place, and I really think this will be the case.”

For Noble, reassuring staff, artists, crew and audiences that it is safe to attend events will be “the biggest challenge” for venues wishing to reopen fully.

“People will understandably be nervous, and it’s our job to not only find a way for events to take place safely, but also to instil confidence that we’ve done so. That’s going to be a question of transparency and communication.”

Safety is, of course, at the forefront of everybody’s minds at the moment, and will continue to be for a long time in the future. However, it is important to remember that the very essence of the live show is also at risk, and this is something that has to be factored in while considering the best ways to reopen.

“One thing we have to work really hard to preserve is the electric atmosphere when thousands of people experience live music together,” says Noble.

“We are all missing that.”

 


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