Almere college resigns over millions of dollars Floriade

All aldermen have tendered their resignation during the council meeting this evening. “We believe that we must take our responsibility,” the college writes.

The company behind the exhibition had assumed 2 million paying visitors. That number has been revised downwards. Today, the Floriade says it can still count on a maximum of 1.2 million visitors. The loss is estimated at 33.8 million euros. 100 million euros of public money had been invested in it.

Almere has exposed itself to ‘enormous risks’ in recent years, alderman Julius Lindenbergh of Finance acknowledged to Omroep Flevoland. “That has been a ten-year process, in which a lot of people have been involved. We have to learn from that at some point. All the risks have turned out badly, but we have exposed ourselves to them. need a conversation.”

Almere is in talks with central government and the province of Flevoland and other parties involved about ‘taking joint responsibility for the financial consequences’.

Former director Hans van Driem warned at the opening in April that the event would not yield enough:

According to the company behind the Floriade, one of the reasons for the disappointing visitor numbers is ‘the changed behavior of Dutch holidaymakers since the corona crisis’. He would visit daytime attractions less often than before the pandemic.

Entrance fee too expensive

Many people would also find the entrance fee of 29 euros too expensive due to the high inflation. The Floriade also claims to be troubled by negative publicity surrounding the exhibition. At the start there were reports that the park would not be finished yet. That is no longer the case, the organization emphasizes.

Since its opening, 232,500 people have visited the Floriade Exhibition. The event will continue until October 9.