“It's not that bad that Corona”. That's what I heard for the first two weeks. And in the meantime we at Tobacco Theater received one cancellation after another. Colleagues who thought I was crazy for saying it will be a tsunami of misery in the events world. No, Erik, we do hear some locations complaining, but most of them don't really notice it. We are told that when we inquire…. My answer was very simple: Then they cheat and try to play nice again for the outside world. You can also say: they lie that they are cracking and do not dare to face the truth and then stand in the middle of the road and wait for the car with the large headlights to drive right over them and they will be on the sign a day later served out of a restaurant in Uitgeest. Two weeks later, the first locations already fell over and the first also dared to say that things are deteriorating very fast. Yes, if Arjen van Dijk goes… then it is no more shame. Yes, thank you the cuckoo gentlemen and ladies. What the heck is that. Hiding and burying your head in the sand is very easy. Hop to work and up the barricades. Just say honestly what is happening and see how you can deal with it in a positive way. Now a sex worker around the corner is allowed to receive her guests from the front and the back, can Joop van de Ende (or does his name say enough in these times?) That he thinks it is bad that the cultural world is not stands together (and hides itself a bit in his bunker in Blaricum) and the municipality of Amsterdam is allowed to spend 4.8 million euros to investigate where a new theater should be placed ... And the non-subsidized theaters and event locations ... they all fall over within half a year. Yes, that is all allowed these days in event country Holland. Oooooh haven't heard anyone say that he's about to fall? Believe me, that will come naturally, but one must first totter over the dam and then more dare to follow in order to report the sad news to the trade journals. And what about our TOBACCO Theater? We are proud because we saw the storm coming in time and we were able to take the measures on time. And especially because we were right to say that the weather is very difficult and that we have to put our finger in the dike to stop the outgoing money flow. And now? How is it now in event land? Big parties are organized but for the people in the industry. Whether it will be a success… I really hope so if God is with me, but I have my doubts. Feel like a party. I not yet. People are definitely going to hear how well they are doing and how well they are dealing with the covid rules now and that they only have happy and very satisfied customers. Because you don't think that they are suddenly going to say honestly how shitty things are actually going? I prefer to put my sheep on dry land first. And then I'll go to parties again and say it still sucks. Because I don't do what I really like and that is creating. Is livestream the new financial event miracle? Well no dude, it's a plaster on the wound. Although you now suddenly see locations in Doorn, Venlo and Purmerend setting up a few rats of cameras, inviting a local photographer and then proudly announcing that they have a live stream studio. It will not be. Either you do it well in the big cities of Amsterdam or Rotterdam or please not at all! But don't convert a hay barn into a studio. Just don't. And by well I mean really good in an environment where the speakers, guests and technology feel comfortable and the professional appearance of the screen splashes. Where viewers think, this is where I remain fascinated by my Mac. So not a glass cage where you can see the roofs of an industrial estate in the background and not one where you can hear the interns giggling and the connection is not fast enough. Teeth-grinding examples of locations that try to pop their heads out of the sand but try to French kiss when they have just eaten a dry biscuit. Only handy with pfeiffer .. But then what if you are not a location with a theatrical appearance, professional technicians and also no space for an audience that can continue to dine in the theater hall afterwards, together with the speakers? So what then dear friends of the event world? Do you have a moment…? In the coming period we will therefore only do fun things that we have missed or still miss in Amsterdam until at least 1 January. We are going to use our rooms very differently ... and that will be fun! What are we going to do next to our professional live stream studios in Amsterdam? We will of course not tell you that until two weeks from now…. Yours sincerely, Erik van Wilsum D'Erikteur TOBACCO Theater Amsterdam and Livestreamstudios Amsterdam
