Many theatres and museums will be allowed to open their doors from June 1, prime minister Mark Rutte announced at Thursday’s press conference but ‘unclear and impractical’ new rules to combat the spread of coronavirus have not gone down well in the culture sector, the Volkskrant reports.

Cinemas

Film theatre organisation NVBF, which had counted on being able to accommodate 100 people from June 1 said it was disappointed the new rule only allows 30 people, to be followed by 100 from July 1.

‘A hundred people would have been loss making but with 30 it’s even worse,’ NVBF director Gulian Nolthenius told the paper. ‘We had gone back to a hundred in the weeks before we closed and that went ok. It feels as if we’ve been put back.’

Smaller, arthouse cinemas complained they feel they should not be subjected to a protocol thought out for the big cinema chains such as Pathé, Vue and Kinepolis, the paper said.

Museums

Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits said he is happy his museum is at least opening on June 1, although the final decision will not be made until May 20. From that date a maximum of 2,000 people can visit the museum compared with 10,000 on a normal day. That is below the number of people the museum would be officially allowed to accommodate but, Dibbits said, the museum wants to lead up to more visitors gradually so as not to compromise safety.

Museums are allowed to accommodate a maximum of one person or family per 10 square metres of ground space at any one time, and entry and exit ways must be separate. If necessary, a one-way system must be imposed. ‘This may not be practical for all museums,’ the Dutch museum association told the paper, and some of them will have to content themselves with fewer visitors if the protocol for museums is approved.

Events

The government’s announcement that ‘mass events with a national appeal’ will not return until a vaccine is found, perhaps in a year or more, has sent a shockwave in the world of pop music and festivals, the paper said.

Ziggo Dome commercial director Danny Damman said his own protocol for June 1 proposed seating at the required 1.5 metre distance for  2,000 to 2,500 spectators. ‘If people can go to a garden centre then why can’t they come here to see a concert? I have 30 entrances and enough toilets for 17,000 people so I think we are well-placed to guarantee the safety of our public.’ He also said it was not clear what exactly constitutes an ‘event’.

Theaters and concert halls

The rule to allow only 30 people in theatres and concert halls from June 1 also scuppered Amsterdam theatre Carré’s plans to accommodate 475 people by that date.

‘That is a third of our capacity and doesn’t offer a solid financial base. But we’re a theatre and we want to offer performances. Now the rule is thirty and a hundred a month later. There’s even discussion about whether this includes staff. It’s bizarre. We have to go back to the drawing board,’ director Madeleine van der Zwaan said.

Concert and conference venue De Doelen in Rotterdam, which can accommodate 2,100 people in its large hall, said international conferences were ‘not going to return any time soon’ if only 30 people are allowed to participate. And we need thirty staff to organise our online lunch concerts alone,’ director Janneke Staarink said.