'Unmute Us' - 70,000 protesters demanded reopening of Dutch festivals
The protests were organized after the decision to keep major events and festivals banned in the Netherlands.
Last Saturday, protests were organized across the Netherlands with sound systems and DJs that grew into mini-festivals with crews and convoys of trucks pumping out music across the Dutch cities. Nearly 70,000 people gathered in support of the event and music industry. They are fighting for the decision to approve major events and festivals from September 1st.
Protests were organized on the streets of Eindhoven, Groningen, Nijmegen, Utrecht, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam, and new ones are expected again on September 5th.
Marchers carried banners reading: “Music = Medicine” and “Don’t Cancel Culture.”
“They can silence festivals, but they can’t silence us,” said one of the DJs who was performing from a truck.
The protests started on Saturday 21.08. at 2 p.m., and were scheduled to last 3 hours, however, the audience danced until the evening. The Dutch government has introduced new restrictions, although it is pretty obvious that lockdown is no longer an effective measure. Current measures in the Netherlands allow a maximum of 750 people per event while respecting epidemiological measures.
The leaders of ‘Unmute Us’ want the Dutch government to allow organizing major-scale events from September. However, even if the government complies, it would still be too late for festivals like Down the Rabbit Hole (27–29 August) and Mysteryland (27–29 August).
Follow the #UnmuteUs movement, which could soon grow into a global initiative and attract millions of united and affected organizers from the event industry. A list of all the united artists of the Dutch scene who took part in this movement can be found here.
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By: Helen B.
