Predecessors of Spoffin were sometimes entirely or largely organized by volunteers, such as the Amersfoorts Straatfestival and Etcetera La Strada. However, with the strict requirements imposed on festivals today in areas like safety, permits, artistic quality, business solidity, diversity, inclusion, marketing, and communication, this is unthinkable in 2024. It's no coincidence that Etcetera La Strada started working with a paid staff from 2000 onwards: it became impossible to manage everything with volunteers. That being said, volunteers still play a significant role; without them, a festival like Spoffin could not exist. Our sister organization, Amersfoorts Theater Terras, which hosts 3 to 4 performances per year, is run entirely by volunteers.

In short, almost no cultural festival of any size can exist without funding from the (local) government. Only commercial festivals with expensive tickets and high food and beverage sales, usually behind closed gates, can operate without government contributions. That’s not what Spoffin is about. The charm of street festivals lies in the open atmosphere, where the audience moves from performance to performance, comes and goes as they please, and pays what they think it's worth.

At the same time, street festivals are relatively inexpensive and therefore accessible to a different audience. No offense to our colleagues in traditional theaters, but a festival like Spoffin attracts as many or more visitors in one weekend as a medium-sized theater does in an entire year. And for a fraction of the cost. Not to mention disciplines like classical music and opera, which are even more expensive.

You can judge for yourself. According to the plans, from 2025 the artistic director and general manager of Spoffin would earn a fee of € 44.47 per hour on a freelance basis (24 hours per week, excluding VAT); the financial director € 37.86 per hour (16 hours per week, excluding VAT). This would be a significant increase compared to the current fees (2021-2024), a direct result of the subsidy requirement to pay according to the collective labor agreement (fair pay). The amounts are based on the 2023 Dutch Podium CAO (Collective Labor Agreement), which was current at the time of submission, using the management of an international festival as a basis.

For reference, a study published by KNAB business bank in February 2024 on average freelance rates shows that the remuneration of our freelancers is on the lower side. According to the study, the average hourly rate of freelancers in the arts and culture sector ranges from € 56 to € 64, with the average in the province of Utrecht being € 87.

Perhaps it’s worth mentioning: freelancers (and all paid workers at Spoffin are freelancers) are responsible for paying income tax (including ‘employer costs’), social security contributions, health and disability insurance, professional insurance, maternity leave, unemployment reserves, pension contributions, vacation, administration, acquisition, and for their work tools such as a good laptop, mobile phone, and other equipment.

The artists are experiencing the biggest loss in this whole story. Our multi-year plan for 2025-2028 centered around the ambition to compensate our artists better. Compared to the 2021-2025 subsidy period, we planned to increase the artistic budget by nearly 80%. This is due to rising costs, fair pay, and the ambition to further improve the quality of the program.

Background: Spoffin has an IN and an OFF program. For Spoffin IN, featuring well-known artists, the festival pays the full agreed buyout amount based on the asking price, plus travel and accommodation costs. Spoffin OFF is a showcase for emerging artists. Only in the OFF program, which attracts applications from around 200 groups from all over the world each year, is there a limited risk for the artists. Our 2025-2028 plan guarantees the artists a decent daily rate, based on fair pay guidelines from the CAO Toneel & Dans. This involves a guaranteed minimum amount of €250-€270 per person per day, which can increase significantly depending on the funding available—exactly what artists have been advocating for at the festival.

The loss of Spoffin, one of the largest outdoor theater festivals in the Netherlands, has hit the artists hard. Especially since several other festivals have disappeared in recent years, making it increasingly difficult to survive as a street artist in the Netherlands. This is one of the main reasons why the organization is investigating a possible reboot. So that we can at least offer some artists a performance space each year.

The Association of Outdoor Theater (BB) had extensive discussions with Spoffin in April 2024 and, based on these talks and the plans, wrote a detailed analysis. One of the key conclusions: "We find (...) nothing in the press reports or in BACK’s advice that suggests that Spoffin's plans regarding OFF artists are actually a significant improvement compared to the past. We suspect that the press and BACK do not (fully) understand the difference between the IN and OFF programming." In consultation with BB, Spoffin also included this analysis in the objection letter, but unfortunately, it did not help.

Amersfoorts Theater Terras (ATT), Spoffin's sister organization, which organizes a series of outdoor theater performances at various locations in the city throughout the summer, did receive funding for the 2025-2028 period and can therefore continue its activities for the next four years. Although both organizations fall under the same foundation, Zomertheater Amersfoort, the end of Spoffin will not affect ATT.

With the end of Spoffin, a period of more than 45 years of well-regarded outdoor theater festivals in the city, including Amersfoorts StraatFestival, La Strada, Etcetera La Strada, Etcetera, and finally Spoffin, seems to be coming to an end. We want to prevent that.

Multi-year subsidies are awarded in Amersfoort once every four years; the next round will be in 2027. Larger contributions from the municipality are only possible within this multi-year scheme. Without the municipality, the province and the national government won’t contribute either. A festival like Spoffin will not return easily unless the city council decides to save it.

Nevertheless, we are determined to preserve the concept of a street or outdoor theater festival for Amersfoort. Not only for the city but also for the artists, for whom Spoffin has always been an important event. And also because nine other outdoor theater festivals elsewhere in the Netherlands have already disappeared in recent years, making it increasingly difficult for artists to continue their craft.

Nothing is certain yet. We are working hard to explore a restart. But first and foremost, we want to make the last edition of Spoffin a great success!

• Come to the festival and enjoy the extensive program
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• Become a festival volunteer.
  
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• Show your support on social media or through letters to the (local) media.