Trio of Dutch festivals lean into discounted passes

A number of Dutch festival organisers are offering discounted tickets in a bid to keep events accessible for gig-goers on a modest income.

Utrecht-based experimental festival Le Guess Who has announced the return of its Low Income Day Tickets in 2025, after the success of last year’s pilot programme.

“This initiative arises from the fact that we hear that the ticket price is one of the biggest barriers for people to visit the festival,” says the festival organisers.

A limited number of day tickets will be made available for low-income fans, who can choose to pay €15 or €25 or €35. The four-day festival takes place between 6–9 November.

Elsewhere, Dutch festival Best Kept Secret is expanding its discount ticket offering for younger festivalgoers, following last year’s successful launch.

Promoter Friendly Fire sought to combat the rising cost of living by introducing New Generation weekend passes at a 30% discount for people up to 21 years old.

For the 2025 event, the offer is being extended to include day tickets priced at €99. Regular weekend tickets and New Generation weekend tickets are already available.

Friendly Fire is also trialling a ticket segmentation scheme at its club shows, offering three price points for fans as part of a pilot scheme in collaboration with Utrecht’s EKKO venue.

The FKP Scorpio-backed company is set to trial price segmentation for its shows at EKKO, De Nijverheid, ACU and De Kromme Haring in 2025.

Festival organisers across the industry recently debated the “red line” for ticket prices

Options include the regular ticket price, a ‘less to spend’ price (€5 cheaper), and a ‘more to spend’ price (€5 higher). A limited number of tickets, which can be adjusted where required, will be made available for the minus and plus rate per concert.

This year also saw the launch of Tickets for Good, a social profit organisation that offers healthcare workers affordable access to music and sports events, theatres and museums, in the Netherlands. Companies including ID&T, Mojo Concerts, Greenhouse Talent and This is Live have backed the initiative.

With more than 30 healthcare institutions joining the new platform, Tickets for Good NL reaches more than 150,000 healthcare workers. Meanwhile, the platform’s international network comprises more than 300,000 members and over 500 event partners.

Festival organisers across the industry recently debated the “red line” for ticket prices, with some arguing that their events are good value for money and others concerned about pricing out swathes of their audiences.

Lowlands director Eric van Eerdenburg testifies: “I think we have one of the highest ticket prices in Holland but if you compare it to a weekend in London, Paris or Berlin, it’s cheap.”

The Dutch festival raised its ticket price to €325 for 2024, up from €300 in 2023 and €255 in 2022.

“It’s a constant struggle to keep tickets affordable,” he says. “But attendees are offered so much entertainment for just €115 per day. People tell me every year that they’ve had the best weekend of their lives.”

With the price of energy, production and acts rapidly increasing, a hike in the ticket price was necessary to “make a reasonable margin” adds Eerdenburg.

Last year, at least 60 Dutch festivals were cancelled due to reasons such as low ticket sales, rising costs and a shortage of resources.

In 2025, festivals including The Rock Circus, Audio Obscura Festival, Hellmond Open Air, Flying Dutch Festival, Graveland Festival, Techno Garden Festival and Metropolis Festival have been called off, with the majority referencing low ticket sales and financial issues.

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