Also, the wc can hustle for Cultural Capital Leeuwarden – NOS

It takes a moment before Leeuwarden officially as the Cultural Capital of Europe. Leeuwarden expected only in the opening weekend, in 2018, be sure to 600,000 visitors, but the question is whether the city, which itself 110.000 inhabitants, that is able to handle.

At the exhibition on the 19th-century painter of Lourens Alma-Tadema in the Fries Museum in leeuwarden were the last couple of weeks and all problems to the top by the crowds. The expo is the first event in the run-up to the cultural year and a great success: today, it welcomes the organization of the 150,000 th visitor.

“We actually had around 80,000 visitors are expected, but that is the double,” says Femke Prisoners of the Fries Museum on the NOS-reporter Roel Pauw. On that hustle and bustle was not counted. The building is calculated at approximately 100,000 visitors per year. “So we had the water line broadening because there are many more people than expected to the toilet went. And all of a cup of coffee wanted.”

another consequence was the long queues. The museum went every day, an hour before open and there was a special evening. The TOURIST office opened a second shop to everything in the right direction. “We’d rather people a little longer in the queue, then they need to penetrate to the paintings to see,” says the Prisoners.

1/2Exhibition Alma-Tadema in Fries Museum ANP

2/2Exhibition Alma-Tadema in Fries Museum ANP

For the Fries Museum was this exhibition a kind of dress rehearsal for the crowds that the museum next year. Is the city a true attraction for art-lovers, with exhibitions on, among others, the exotic dancer Mata Hari, from Leeuwarden, and the Dutch artist M. C. Escher. “We have learned from this exhibition,” explains Prisoners. “In 2018 we are going to do things differently.”

The museum wants to make the opening hours more flexible and to take into account a scenario with a lot of visitors. “We will respond to approximately 20,000 visitors per week. We now have 10,000 per week, but Alma-Tadema shows that visitor numbers can double.”

We also have all of the Serious Request will be organised. And a Tour is successful also.

Immie Jonkman of Leeuwarden-Fryslan Cultural Capital

Also for the organization of Leeuwarden-Fryslan Cultural Capital was an important first test. Immie Jonkman of the organization, however, thinks that the hustle and bustle, no problems will result in the city. “We are prepared,” said the young man this morning, in the NOS Radio 1 Journal. “We can hustle for sure. In the past, we have been here for the Serious Request of 3FM organised, and a Tour manage us also. In addition, even two million people to the north.”

Furthermore, not all activities in Leeuwarden. About half of the events will take place outside of the city. “And we have to have enough place, because there are mostly green pastures.”

It is in any case a wonderful year, Jonkman further. “Now we can finally show what we as the province of Friesland in the house.”

Valletta, Malta’s capital city, will also get the title of Culture Capital in 2018.