The Dutch government is introducing a plan to allow tens of thousands of people to visit trial events this April.
The events will be held throughout the whole country. Museums, theatres, sports venues, music venues, zoos, amusement parks, sports halls, and other event organizers can all participate.
The number of visitors per event per day will range from 45 in the province of Zeeland to more than 3,700 in Noord Holland. All trial event locations will have to follow strict safety protocols.
Large-scale testing at events from May
The trial events of this month are supposed to help enable reopening as soon as possible. If they are successful, the government hopes for a large-scale deployment of ‘access tests’ for events from May onwards, reports RTL Nieuws.
Depending on the results, some measures could also be relaxed more quickly, for example allowing a maximum of 100 people instead of 30 at some events. The exact plans for the trial events will most likely be announced by the Dutch cabinet next week.
Eurovision with an audience
The Eurovision Song Contest — an event that was originally supposed to take place in Rotterdam last year — will be one of the trial events this spring, provided infections don’t skyrocket.
At all nine shows, a maximum of 3,500 spectators will be allowed at a time. This is about half the number of spectators expected for last year. Visitors will need a negative coronavirus test to be able to attend.
“The fact that we now have the opportunity to open the script for a Eurovision Song Contest with an audience again is something we could only dream of,” says the executive producer of the event, Sietse Bakker.
Final decision
Eurovision is set to take place between May 18 and May 22. The organizer will provide more information for visitors about the safety protocol for the event in the coming weeks.
However, the final decision whether a live audience can attend Eurovision or whether we’ll only be able to watch the contest on our screens is supposed to come at the end of April.
Will you be attending any of the trial events in April? Let us know in the comments below!
Feature Image: Yvette de Wit/Unsplash
I would like to participate in a trial event. Thanks!