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On Wednesday, several of Bergen’s top cultural leaders met with the press to express their heartfelt views.
the new crown setting in Bergen
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Among the measures is the reduction of all public events.
During the ten-day initiative period, only 50 spectators are allowed at theatrical performances, concerts, and other events, no matter how large the venue is.
– I have not received a single phone call
– This is no longer a charity event. I feel like it is symbolic politics. The municipality makes these decisions without answering a single phone call to anyone in the industry. We have lived with corona measures for months and followed all the rules, and there has been no infection in any grow house in Bergen, says Sølvi Rolland, director of Ole Bull Scene.
He receives support in the power salve from, among others, Solrun Toft Iversen, who is director of the West Norwegian Theater.
Iversen says the industry is under the impression that the measures are implemented without any qualified assessment of the risk of infection in cultural settings.
– We experience that this volunteer is mainly us who will take. The measures that have been introduced indicate to a very high degree that cultural events are the worst in this spread of infection, says Iversen.
FEAR FOR THE FUTURE: Ole Bull Scene’s Sølvi Rolland laid off 60 people and experienced a sharp drop in turnover when duty time was reduced.
Photo: Oddgeir Øystese / NRK
Hjelmeland: – Strange
Actor Bjarte Hjelmeland believes that the paradox of the situation becomes extremely clear when one leaves the theater.
– Then walk on the light rail or bus, or stop by a bar or restaurant. There are people in line. So it is strange that whoever obviously makes the right decisions is punished, if such a harsh word can be used.
Nor does the head of the National Stage (DNS) save on gunpowder:
– If Ikea can stay fully open, so can DNS and the other cinemas, says Stefan Larsson.
It qualifies the city council’s crisis measures as a severe blow.
– In these ten days we will have to refund around a thousand tickets. We have sold 200 tickets, but we have to send 150 spectators home each night. The consequences will be great for both revenue and logistics, and will also create workplace unrest about how we will manage in the future, says the DNS manager.
YOU MUST SEND 150 HOME: Theater Director Stefan Larsson believes the restrictions are unreasonable.
Photo: Oddgeir Øystese / NRK
Requires dialogue with the municipality
All the cultural leaders present requested a dialogue with the Bergen municipality on the situation.
– Such things cannot come simply as a municipal decree, says Larsson.
– We cannot take the consequences alone of a policy that we experience as arbitrary. We have become a stage where you can lift up and exhort people to be careful, because we are the very symbol of the reunion, says Solrun Toft Iversen at Det Vestnorske Teateret.
– The truth is that there are no safer places to meet than us. We do our best to ensure infection control.
Ole Bull Scene has already laid off sixty people and, according to Sølvi Rolland, experienced a 60 percent turnover failure when the government decided to close the bar at 24. Now audience capacity is reduced from 200 to 50, ten percent from the ordinary capacity of the place.
– Ten days for us is like half a year. It will have a huge ripple effect. Before I was worried. Now I’m desperate, says Rolland.
CRISIS MEASURES INTRODUCED: The infection boom in Bergen prompted Councilor Roger Valhammer (Labor Party) to emerge Tuesday with new and stricter crown measures in the municipality.
Photo: Helena Viktora Johnsen / NRK
The town hall leader: – The measures have been contagiously evaluated
Councilor Roger Valhammer responded to criticism from cultural leaders during an online meeting with NRK on the crown situation in Bergen on Wednesday afternoon.
– I have a great understanding of frustration in the culture industry. They are one of the most affected industries. All measures aimed at uniting people reach the culture industry as a whole, he says.
He claims the city council did not have time to engage in dialogue with the city’s cultural institutions on Tuesday due to intense meetings with the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) and Bergen agencies that needed to be informed of the measures.
– I come directly from a meeting with actors of cultural life now, and I will have several encounters with actors and institutions that are very affected. Unfortunately, yesterday it was not possible to implement it, but of course we will ensure a good dialogue in the future and try to make it as intrusive as possible, says Valhammer.
The city council leader rejects that the measures are symbolic policies.
– Maximum limits are established in accordance with clear advice from NIPH and other professionals. Then the measures are professionally evaluated, says Valhammer.
