Circumstances with EXIT is one of the main acts at Spoffin in 2024. © Karin Jonkers
Spoffin 2024 will be last edition
14-07-2024
The 14th edition of the Spoffin street festival in Amersfoort, from 23 to 25 August 2024, will also be the last. As a result, the town's only theatre festival is in danger of disappearing and the Netherlands will lose one of the largest and most progressive international street festivals. Spoffin, which started in 2010, attracts around 40,000 to 45,000 visitors every year.
After the municipality of Amersfoort rejected the subsidy application for the period 2025-2028 earlier this year, the appeal by the organising foundation Zomertheater Amersfoort (ZTA) was also rejected last week. The ZTA has decided not to pursue the matter any further, but will investigate what is still possible.
Spoffin's disappearance is a huge blow to the organisation, the team, the volunteers and the artists involved in the festival. Spoffin is not the only street festival to collapse; nine outdoor theatre festivals in the Netherlands have been downsized or cancelled in recent years.
Stunned
‘We are stunned by the rejection of our appeal,’ said president Janneke van Brussel. 'Unfortunately, we were unable to change the council's mind. We have clearly and factually refuted misinterpretations and false assumptions. The disappointment is great and we do not understand why this international open-air theatre festival, which has gained so much fame and recognition, and whose quality and diversity is so great, is now being wiped off the map for good.'
'With the disappearance of Spoffin, the only free accessible street theatre festival in the region, an important stage will disappear and more than 45 years of experience and knowledge - also gained in the festival's predecessors - will be lost,' said Van Brussel. 'We see this as a great loss for the city, the country and Europe. As a board we find it very difficult to accept this decision.'
Proud
Despite the disappointment, artistic director and founder Alfred Konijnenbelt is particularly proud of what Spoffin has achieved in Amersfoort and the Netherlands over the past 15 years. 'We have made theatre accessible to a large number of Amersfoort residents and many visitors from home and abroad,' he reflects. ‘Many people have wonderful memories of Spoffin. For many artists it was an important festival in their career. We have given them a stage, helped them with new creations, connected them with professionals and established international networks.’
Grand finale
'The programme for 2024 is ready and looks very promising,' concludes Konijnenbelt. ‘We will do our utmost to put on an unforgettable Grand Final. At the same time, it hurts that we will no longer be able to organise this festival after 15 years. The curtain falls on Spoffin.’
The programme for Spoffin 2024 can be found at www.spoffin.eu.
Festival Spoffin