The Conservative Party (H) has called for a new assessment of the government’s limitation of a 200 person audience. They have joined a chorus of criticism, mostly from the cultural sector, who want an increase in the audience limit.
Government wants flexible solutions
The Conservative Party has joined along with a number of those in the cultural sector who have ridiculed the government’s decision to place a 200 person limit on audiences. Anette Trettebergstuen, Minister of Culture (AP), wants health authorities to look at other possibilities.
“We must have a more flexible solution where you look at the number of people against the number of square meters and entrances so that as many people as possible can go to different events,” she told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).
With a growing number of festivals, both large and small, set to take place soon, Trettebergstuen wanted to accommodate as many as possible in a safe way. The current audience limit was raised, from 50 to 200, last week and the restrictions will be in place for a month. However, Trettebergstuen expects to come up with a new audience limit before that.
Conservative Party adds to gathering criticism
The Conservative Party, however, is critical of the government’s audience limit. Tage Pettersen, the party’s cultural spokesperson, was particularly scathing.
He pointed to the fact that when the Conservative Party was in government under former Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H), they not only allowed for the use of corona certificates for large cultural events but also used a percentage capacity limit and allowed up to 200 people in cohorts at the same time.
He said that the current Minister of Culture’s plan was wrong and that “it is only stupid when Trettebergstuen says that everything must be re-examined to let in more than 200. A solution must be in place as soon as possible.”
Pettersen has joined a number of voices in the cultural sector who have derided the government’s seemingly arbitrary number for an audience limit. Director Per-Ole Moen of Oslo Spektrum, which has an 8.500-person capacity, told the newspaper Dagbladet that the seemed to have been plucked “out of thin air.”
Rasmus Sandnes, manager of Euform Holding (which owns Telenor Area) said the limit was comical given that Telenor is a 10.000-square meter arena with a capacity for 25.000 spectators.
Source : NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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