Plans for special coronavirus-proof music festival in Amsterdam

The Sloterplas in Amsterdam may become the venue for a brand new coronavirus-proof music festival on boats this August. 

A new kind of music festival

A number of events and festivals were forced to cancel this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic, including popular music festival Loveland. The festival is typically hosted in the Sloterpark in Amsterdam, and event organiser Pepijn Rijvers saw an opportunity to move the festival from land to water to ensure distance can be maintained to prevent the spread of the virus. 

Rijvers has submitted a permit application for a festival with room for 100 boats and a maximum of 1.200 attendees. The application has been submitted to the municipality for approval. Organisers hope the event will take place on an August weekend. 

Sloterplas music festival

The permit application currently includes plans for one large boat with a DJ booth which will serve as the stage. Three jetties will be placed in front of the ship, with space for 100 boats to moor. 

Attendees will be able to moor their own boats, and to ensure the coronavirus measures are followed properly, will not be allowed off their boats except to go to the toilet. Up to 12 people will be allowed on each boat. 

The municipality of Amsterdam has already rejected an application for a sitting festival version of Milkshake, as officials could not see that distance would be maintained at all times. Rijvers, however, is hopeful that his application will be successful. He told AT5 that the application took all coronavirus safety measures into consideration, and that there would be health checks at the entrance, and a large black fence around the area to ensure no members of the public will gather on the shore to watch the festival.