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“People all over Norway need the power of music and culture now, in a dark and difficult time. Therefore, we will ask the Minister of Health and the Minister of Culture to reconsider the definition of fixed seating and instead , introduce a requirement for the placement of permanent seats, “writes the Norwegian Music Council and the Cultural Alliance in a joint letter to Health Minister Bent Høie (H) and Culture Minister Abid Raja (V).
The letter was sent to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Culture on Thursday afternoon.
– We especially appeal to the Minister of Health Bent Høie and the health authorities, who are behind this decision. If they quickly turn around now, there is hope that we will have more Christmas concerts, says Åsmund Mæhle, general secretary of the Norwegian Choirs Association and president of the cultural alliance.
The Norwegian Music Council and the Cultural Alliance are two major volunteer cultural life coordinating organizations, speaking on behalf of choirs, corps, orchestras, bands, youth groups and concert organizers across the country.
Also Read: Many Thousands May Miss Their Christmas Concert Under New Crown Rules
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A bomb
It struck like a bomb on Norwegian cultural life when the government introduced new infection control measures on November 5, and it turned out that they came up with an entirely new definition of how many spectators can gather. Now it is only allowed with 50 instead of 200 spectators in churches, houses of culture or other venues that do not have fixed individual seats. The government believes that when you sit on a bench and not a single fixed seat, there is a danger of “sliding” too close to your neighbor.
Other rooms with fixed seating, like cinemas and theaters, can still have 200 in the room. In the letter to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Culture, the organizations strongly criticize this:
“For voluntary cultural life organizations, this discrimination seems arbitrary and incompletely justified. It has important consequences for the many Christmas concerts and Christmas performances that are now on the doorstep. If the rule holds, it is necessary to cancel a lot. This, in turn, will contribute to the erosion and decline in motivation that we now see in voluntary cultural life. If voluntary cultural life has learned anything this year, it is infection control.
– We do not believe that the health authority knows enough about voluntary Norwegian cultural and musical life and how it works. They also don’t seem to know how good we’ve become at infection control, says Mæhle.
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Much debate
The fact that church pews are no longer considered fixed has created much debate in the last week. In addition, there are local restrictions in municipalities with high infection pressure, such as Oslo, where all leisure activities are canceled for several weeks. This has led to you not being able to rehearse for Christmas concerts and other events.
– The advice of the Norwegian Music Council is to take a break from rehearsals until the middle of next week in the infected municipalities. So the hope is that the situation improves so that we can have rehearsals and do Christmas concerts. But there are probably many choirs in Oslo and Bergen that have already canceled their Christmas concerts. This with 50 viewers is probably what has pushed many to the limit. Unfortunately, says Mæhle, who believes that voluntary musical life is the main provider of the Christmas atmosphere.
– We are facing a poorer Christmas, when people cannot go to their local church or culture house and experience Christmas concerts, Mæhle believes.
Also read: Solberg: Norwegians should stay home
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