Save your ticket, enjoy later
Dutch theatres - including De Maaspoort Theatre & Events -, concert halls, pop stages, event and sports organisers, museums and festivals are jointly asking visitors to keep their tickets and thus support the cultural sector. The sector has jointly developed a scheme, with the support of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and according to the rules of the ACM.
COVID-19 affects us all, including the cultural sector and sports. Many performances, festivals, matches and concerts are forced to be rescheduled or cancelled; museums and monuments close their doors. The various sector associations are joining forces and calling on their visitors to keep their tickets until the doors reopen Keep your ticket, enjoy later.
Appropriate offer
The organisations will come up with suitable solutions for the ticket holders, the visitors. New dates will be sought as far as possible for events that cannot be held now, and the original ticket will remain valid. If such a rescheduling is not possible, the event is definitively cancelled or the ticket holder is unable to attend the new date, the ticket holder will receive a voucher worth the original ticket price, including (service) fees, which can be redeemed later. This allows visitors to still enjoy a replacement performance, match, festival, concert or exhibition.
Ticket buyers are informed by the organiser concerned about the practicalities of their event and tickets. In many cases, ticket buyers can also choose to convert their ticket into a donation, thus supporting artists, creators and the people behind the scenes. De Maaspoort: "We are still communicating about the settlement, the purchased tickets will remain valid in any case. If relocation is not an option, we will of course look for a compensation, such as a replacement performance, a voucher or refund. As soon as more is known, we will inform you and contact you. So you don't have to do anything, we will contact you."
Broad support
The joint scheme follows the rules of the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (ACM) and has received support from Ingrid van Engelshoven, Minister of Education, Culture and Science, among others: "These are challenging times for the cultural sector as well. We can help theatres, organisers, pop venues and museums by continuing to go to shows, only later when circumstances permit. Events are now being rescheduled. Save your ticket and keep enjoying culture. And if you can't go, ask for a voucher. That is how you help the cultural sector to stay afloat.
Enjoy later
With 'Save your ticket, enjoy later', the sector hopes that ticket holders will postpone their visit to their favourite stage or event. This will allow the cultural sector and sports to absorb the major economic blow that the Corona crisis has dealt them. This gives the sector the space to work on new events in the future. This will not only help the organisers, artists and venues, but also the people behind the scenes who help make these events possible, such as set designers, technicians, suppliers, creatives and other employees and self-employed people in the cultural and sports sector.
The organisers do of course understand if ticket holders do not wish to or cannot make use of this scheme for whatever reason; they can still request a refund. The method of refunding is described in the 'Coronacrisis Ticket Refund Regulations' and is related to the date of the (original or rescheduled) event.
More information about 'Save your ticket, enjoy later' can be found at bewaarjeticket.nl.