After the mega loss of the last edition in Almere, the organization of the Floriade throws in the towel. This puts an end to what started in 1960 as a billboard for the Dutch horticultural sector, but turned into an outdated financial debacle.
Op 25 maart 1960 was het zover: de eerste Floriade ging van start in Rotterdam. Het evenement, georganiseerd door de Nederlandse Tuinbouw Raad (NTR), moest de nationale tuinbouwsector wereldwijd onder de aandacht brengen.
Het werd een groot succes. Zo’n vier miljoen bezoekers kwamen op het evenement af.
Speciaal voor deze gelegenheid werd de Euromast gebouwd. In het park eromheen konden de bezoekers bijvoorbeeld speciaal aangelegde tuinen bekijken en er was een gondelbaan. De Nederlandse tuinbouwsector pakte groots uit en prinses Beatrix mocht de Floriade openen.
Visitor numbers declined this century
Therefollowing, a new edition appeared every ten years. Amsterdam and Zoetermeer, among others, hosted the horticultural exhibition.
But over the years it slowly came to a head, especially financially. In 1992, the municipality of Zoetermeer invested millions in the event, which attracted more than three million people.
This century also saw a decline in visitor numbers. The 2002 and 2012 editions attracted only two million interested people. Last year there were only 700,000 at the last edition. Meanwhile, losses continued to mount.
Disappointments time and time once more
Nevertheless, the municipality of Almere was still hopeful when it was awarded the Floriade of 2022. The three previous editions had each resulted in a loss of several million, but the municipal council was convinced that things would go differently in his city.
Almere was right regarding that: things got even worse. Even before the event started, there were all kinds of setbacks. The municipality had to spend extra money time and time once more. The rest of the city suffered as a result, for example due to less maintenance of infrastructure and green areas. Less money also came from the horticultural sector itself.
Furthermore, a year before the opening of the Floriade, the director was replaced, who then started a lawsuit. The corona pandemic also hampered the preparations. Partly because of this, parts of the site were not quite ready when the doors opened. To make matters worse, visitor interest was limited in the first few weeks.
Even two million visitors would not have been enough
Those are start-up problems, the organization judged. Visitor numbers would improve. But that was disappointing. In the end, only 685,000 people visited the Floriade. That was regarding a third of the expected two million visitors and even that number would not have been enough for profit.
According to the latest official figures, the loss for the municipality of Almere is no less than 100 million euros. The final figure is said to be even higher. Meanwhile, the city council drew all its conclusions and resigned.
The organization also realized that things might not go on like this. After four loss-making editions, massive absences of visitors and a concept that the organization itself admits is outdated, it has drawn a line under the Floriade. Fortunately, we still have the Euromast.