The festival season is about to burst out, also in Rotterdam. From Oranjebitter to the Kralingse Bos Festival and from Nord Sea Jazz to the Vrije Volk Festival. Fun for visitors, but in recent years there has also been a lot of criticism from local residents. Yet, Rotterdam is an international example when it comes to festival policy. Martijn Mulder researches live music, festivals and pop venues at Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication. He explains what the burdens and benefits of festivals are for a city and what you can do to limit nuisance for local residents.
Celebrations and festivals have been part of societies for centuries. 'Traditionally, they have been important to bring people together and celebrate shared values. In the past often from a religious perspective, now also from a subculture or meeting like-minded people, for example,' Martijn Mulder explains. A big difference from before is that festivals are now more professional and commercial. 'It has become a revenue model, both for the organiser and for a city. After all, festivals can boost a city's image and the local economy.' The latter refers to economic 'spin-off', such as hotels that are fully booked during a festival or local catering establishments frequented by festival-goers.
Rotterdam festival city as an international example
Rotterdam is seen internationally as a forerunner and example of a city that has a good festival policy. Festivals are clustered in certain weeks, spread across the city and throughout the year. It also says 'no' to festivals that do not add something to the current offer or if the calendar is already 'full'. 'It isn't a coincidence a Rotterdammer recently wrote the festival policy for Amsterdam,' jokes Martijn Mulder. He also explains that Rotterdam is paying attention to visitors' budgets: 'Next to an expensive festival like North Sea Jazz something opposite is programmed: North Sea Around Town, with free concerts throughout Rotterdam.'
Free and low-cost festivals are increasingly disappearing
The fact that more and more free and low-cost festivals are in danger of disappearing does worry Martijn Mulder. This year, for example, the free festival Metropolis will disappear from Rotterdam's festival calendar after 30 years, because its subsidy has stopped. 'When I was there, I really felt that I saw all layers of the population mixed up there,' he says. 'By commercialising festivals, you see that we are drifting more and more away from the original function: bringing people together.'
Free festivals are important part of the 'festival ecosystem'
But there is another reason why this development is worrisome. 'The small festivals are very important for the lesser-known artists and that is 90% of the industry. They need to play a lot to stay relevant and make flying hours. If this part of the festival ecosystem falls away then it means they would have to play on a big stage right away, when in fact they can't handle that yet.'
One way to save free and low-cost festivals is by sharing more knowledge in the Netherlands. 'Often, they are organised by enthusiasts or local residents, while a permit or subsidy application can be furiously complicated. It would be good if knowledge about this were shared more.'
Local residents experience the burdens and not the joys?
Festival enthusiast Martijn Mulder himself lived next to Rotterdam's Vroesenpark for many years, and he does recognise the annoyances that local residents sometimes have about festivals, such as noise pollution and mess. 'I too have experienced this and what was the reason? There was not good communication by the organisation and municipality. Make sure local residents know how many festivals take place each year, how many decibels are involved and when it ends. That really saves a lot already.'
In this too, Rotterdam is a forerunner and there have long been 'festival location profiles' in which the above has been established. And that is sorely needed in a city that is increasingly being built up and where places for festivals are disappearing. 'Because nobody wants their residential area to become a theme park,' Mulder said.
The future of the festival in the city
Finally, Martijn Mulder has gained some ideas abroad for festivals in the city: 'You can start working with an "agents of change" principle, where whoever comes last is responsible for the problem. Say a festival has been in a park for 30 years and houses are being built around it. Then the developer of the houses should be responsible for stopping nuisance.' He also sees experimentation with 'permanent' festival sites: sites where a festival can be held several times a year. 'But whether that's what? It does solve some problems, but you do move further and further away from what a festival once was. Do people really want to travel that far? And you probably miss the economic spin-off effects then too.'
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