The Dutch events branch is urging the government to set up a guarantee fund so they can start planning summer shows and festivals, as has happened in Germany.

‘We need to know where we are by February 1 at the latest,’ Jolanda Jansen, director of Rotterdam’s Ahoy venue, said in a statement. ‘Then we need to have a ‘go’ so we can start with preparations.’

‘We cannot afford to miss a second summer, because then even more of our 100,000 people will be out of work and the sector, which turns over €7.4bn, will have had it.’

Global events such as the Eurovision Song Contest and the Zandvoort Grand Prix are among those cancelled last year and now scheduled for 2021. But the Rotterdam marathon, the Invictus Games, and festivals such as Lowlands as well as the Amsterdam Dance Event also require major planning.

Germany has set up a €2.5bn guarantee fund to cover costs if events are cancelled because of coronavirus.

Insurance companies which normally cover events against cancellation have excluded events cancelled due to coronavirus from their policies.