This past Saturday, August 21, thousands of eager music fans in The Netherlands hit the streets to protest a nationwide ban on large-scale events. The comprehensive effort known as “Unmute Us,” is comprised of over 450 organizers of world renowned events like Awakenings, Mysteryland, and DGTL.
Marches in support of “Unmute Us” occurred in major Dutch cities including Groningen, Nijmegen, Utrecht, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. The protests came as a response to a ban from the Dutch government on festivals through at least October 31 due to increased cases of COVID-19.
The protesters are demanding the ban be lifted on September 1.
Ironically, videos from the protests are rather reminiscent of festivals themselves. DJs like Joris Voorn played sets on trucks to thick crowds of dancers. Check it out below.
Tensions among event organizers and the Dutch government have been high since the sudden cancellation of Tomorrowland 2021. ID&T, the largest event promoter in The Netherlands, has been involved in legal proceedings with the government over the continuing bans.
A recent update claimed that the government was in discussion with ID&T as well as other promoters to come up with a plan to allow events, but given the continued postponements and cancellations, it seems such discussions haven’t yielded results.
In July, The Netherlands saw a five-fold increase in COVID-19 cases and Verknipt Festival in Amsterdam was linked to over 1,000 new cases.
I think we made ourselves heard quite well!@awakenings #unmuteus#unmuteus #awakenings #techno #ansterdam #parade #technoparade pic.twitter.com/uy5otH3089
— Joris Voorn (@jorisvoorn) August 22, 2021
Featured Image By AP
