Dutch Gay News, August 24 1995



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Trustee Europride '94 to Sue Organisers

AMSTERDAM. The trustee appointed to wrap up the financial mess left behind by the organisers of last year's Amsterdam held Europride may sue the organisers of the event, notably Europride director Hans Verhoeven for being in default. Although Europride was set up as a foundation Dutch law makes it possible to sue individual members of a foundation that has gone bankrupt if non-performance can be proved. In the case of Europride the debts left behind amount to some 1,000,000 Dutch Guilders (US$ 700,000) and as there are hardly any assets left the 40-odd creditors can expect to receive only some 4% of their claims. To add insult to injury Mr. Verhoeven, who is seen as the man to blaim for the debacle has claimed several thousand guilders himself, a claim which the trustee quickly dismissed. Long before last year's Europride there were rumours in the Amsterdam gay community that the organisation would go under leaving debts of at least DFL 200,000 (US$ 120,000). The debacle is blaimed on the fact that the organisation from the beginning refused any assistance from outsiders, recruitment of volunteers was started far too late, events were hardly announced and there were rumours of organisors squandering Europride funds. In the run-up to the Gay Pride March on the 25th of june many changes to the scheduled events had to be made, bills were left unpaid and performances failed to materialise. Even the gay pride march, very well attended and made possible by a last-minute loan from the COC-N.V.I.H. of DFL 50,000 (US$ 33,000), turned out to be a financial disaster. The idea was that sales of beer and refreshments would generate enough cash to pay off debts, but when far too few bars were set up and as a result people had to stand in long lines many went to bars nearby for drinks. According to the trustee the organisors of Europride '94 have by their behaviour seriously aggravated the situation and thus can be held personally responsible for at least part of the debt.

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Holiday Drag Show to be Organised on Mallorca

THE HAGUE/MALLORCA. Whereas in the old days the only dragshows that could be seen in Holland would be those held in Amsterdam gay bars and performances by Georg Preusse ("Mary") on West-German t.v. nowadays drag-shows seem to be everywhere. Last year the commercial Veronica network started a series of drag- shows on national tv, last week the SAD-Schorerstichting staged a dragshow to raise funds for the fight against AIDS and next fall the musical "La cage aux follies" will open in Amsterdam. Now a firm called Top Entertainment has come up with the idea to combine drag and vacationing, organising a contest for drag-queens in the Spanish holiday resort of Mallorca under the name of a "Miss Travestie"-holiday. The event will take place from september 10-17 and consists of shows in different hotels on the island of Mallorca with a grand finale and prizes on the 16th. "We welcome participants from all over Europe, not just from Holland, but so far we got more attention from the media than from potential applicants", according to Mrs. Ter Heijden, who runs the The Hague office. So, pull out those pumps, dig up those dresses, take out your wallet and contact Mrs. Ter Heijden for more information on tel. int-70-3455747.

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