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.
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.