ADE, the biggest festival in the Netherlands, may not happen after all. As a matter of fact, the Dutch government made the decision to not reopen nightclubs until November. The Netherlands experienced another COVID surge and was plunged back into lockdown mode. Back in July, the Prime Minister apologized for his “error of judgment” in scrapping most coronavirus restrictions in the country. Now new health guidelines will be imposed by the Dutch Government in order to fight the Delta variant.
As some of you may know, the Amsterdam Dance Event is set to take place from October 13 through 17. However, with those new restrictions, the event is in serious jeopardy. The organizers of ADE expressed their disappointment via the event’s Facebook page.
“The Dutch government has decided to leave festivals, clubs and nightlife without perspective yet again – a disastrous decision for the backbone of ADE and the electronic music industry as a whole. Without a clear vision on nightlife and its culture, there is still no hope on the horizon for countless clubs, artists and electronic music enthusiasts. This Saturday, the festival industry and music lovers will hit the streets of Amsterdam to speak out against the political decisions of our government and to demand a re-opening of festivals from early September on out.”
Even though nightclubs and events did open earlier in the summer, uncertainty loomed around. In fact, one festival alone, Verknipt Festival, is reportedly responsible for 1,000 new cases. With more than 400K people attending ADE’s workshops, conferences, and shows, the event will probably not take place. This is really sad news for the Netherlands, where dance music is extremely important.
If you want more info on the protest, click here.
Stay tuned for more news on ADE!
