Another slap in the face for waltz king André Rieu

 Another slap in the face for waltz king André Rieu

Due to the corona pandemic, the annual summer concerts at the Vrijthof in Maastricht will not take place again for the second consecutive year. That's what the orchestra leader recently announced.

André Rieu thinks the risks are still too great, especially since the traditional concert series in his hometown also attracts  a large audience from abroad.

"Unfortunately, we are not far enough along with the vaccinations worldwide for us to sing, laugh and dance together in Maastricht in July, being carefree and happy", says Rieu, who has since already been vaccinated.

"That's why we're moving the program to 2022. It is very unfortunate that the traditional open air concerts with my Johann Strauss Orchestra are not to go ahead."

Christmas concert

In March, Rieu reported that there was little chance that the Vrijthof concerts would go on as planned this year, despite the global vaccination program.

The Christmas concerts scheduled for December in the MECC Maastricht have not yet been cancelled. The orchestra leader also hopes that the planned concerts in Chile and Uruguay will take place in October and Israel in November. "In that country we sold a thousand tickets in one day. Almost everyone has already been vaccinated there."

Loss of millions

The failure to proceed with the Vrijthof concerts is another huge loss of many millions for the orchestra leader. "Every summer, about 150,000 visitors from 90 countries make for a huge party at the Vrijthof. It is not possible with the one and a half meters required distance because during the concerts there is always plenty of singing and dancing. That is why, unfortunately, we have taken the decision today to cancel the concerts. Safety is our highest priority."

Not only is it a huge loss for the world-famous orchestra, but also for the owners of hotels in and around Maastricht who are also missing out on a lot of revenue now that the summer concerts have been cancelled.

Government support

Thanks to the support of the government, Rieu has previously indicated that he can survive the crisis. His company has 120 permanent employees, of which the government takes over a large part of the costs. "We have worked hard in recent weeks to re-schedule all concerts for 2022."

The new dates will be posted on André Rieu's website. The first concert in a series of fourteen performances is scheduled for 7 July 2022. Orders and travel arrangements booked through André Rieu Travel will automatically remain valid for 2022. Fans will be able to download the tickets with the new date starting Friday via the original order confirmation..

Happy Together

Plans for the summer are there already. There's going to be a new CD. And André also wants to reveal the title: "Happy together". He hopes that thanks to the vaccinations, rehearsals are allowed beginning June.

 Thanks John for this article and translation