Opening New Island Festival op Governors Island
Gelegenheid: Opening New Island Festival op Governors IslandI am a longstanding fan of Oerol and the Parade and I wish that more people in Europe and the US knew the magic of these events. What we have been doing in the Netherlands for many years is to create special locations where very special people create the most wonderful spectacles that we’ve seen in my country in the last couple of years. Oerol on the island of Terschelling is something that I wish everybody could experience. New Yorkers tend to think that only things that are produced, made and shown in New York are worthwhile. Instead of taking them to Terschelling, we have brought Terschelling to New York, here on Governor’s Island. I can assure you that the next couple of days will be magic.
And we need this magic, because we need to reconnect with the wonderful past that started here 400 years ago, when people came to America from all over Europe. Let us not forget this. It wasn’t just the Dutch who came here four centuries ago to found this colony. In the early years of New Amsterdam, eighteen different languages were spoken. People of many different religions lived together. People accepted diversity. Their passion for tolerance, zeal for liberty and craving for opportunity made New York into the greatest city on earth, and that is what it is today. And we want to rekindle that pioneering spirit by creating - through imagination - a world that is essentially human and still might wrong-foot you when you see what is done here on this island in the next couple of days. If I may, I will just mention two of my favourite artists who are here to perform. Firstly, Ellen ten Damme. I’ve loved her voice for many, many years. She can sing in Dutch, German and English in a way that really thrills. But she is also an accomplished circus artist. We have seen her perform recently in Amsterdam taking people’s breath away. And the other person I want to mention – without hurting anyone’s feelings – is Jeroen Willems, who is one of the greatest actors my country has ever produced. He is also an accomplished singer including the songs of Jacques Brel, which are especially dear to me. His wonderful performances of Jacques Brel always give me goose bumps. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy what we have on offer for you the next couple of days. Please tell all your friends to take the ferry to Governor’s Island. We will recreate the fighting and pioneering spirit of New Amsterdam. We will stimulate your imagination. We will make sure that you have an experience that you will never ever forget, and we will be back. Have no doubt about that!
Thank you