Tilburg pubs face €2,500 fine for turning away teenagers

The municipality of Tilburg and the city's hospitality businesses are at odds over minors at the Elfde van de Elfde on 11 November. The two sides will hold talks tomorrow.

Tilburg's hospitality sector refuses to sign a municipal contract stating that everyone is welcome on the festival squares. Venues that do not admit teenagers to the grounds face a fine of €2,500 per case.

The municipality says: "Carnival is a party for everyone. Minors must be able to celebrate too, just like adults."

Alex Boonmann, speaking for the Tilburg hospitality board, says businesses want to be able to refuse people at busy moments. He gives the example of a 14-year-old who has never been in a crowd, or someone who struggles to walk. "It is about their safety," he says. He adds that teenagers often drink beforehand and arrive drunk, which he says makes them a danger to themselves and others in a crowd.

Boonmann calls the municipality's proposal "unworkable". If he may only step in once things go wrong, he says, he would have to put a supervisor on every young person. Hospitality operators are responsible for enforcing alcohol rules and safety on the grounds. "If a 14-year-old gets trampled somewhere, that is my responsibility."

The Elfde van de Elfde is the traditional start of the carnival season, celebrated mostly in Noord-Brabant and Limburg. The season opens at exactly 11.11am. Carnival itself begins on Sunday 7 February.

The Trimbos Instituut says alcohol use among 12- to 16-year-olds has fallen over the past twenty years, but that in recent years they have been binge drinking more often, meaning they drink a lot in a short time. Under-18s carrying alcohol in public can be fined or given community service.

Both the municipality and hospitality hope the event goes ahead. Boonmann says he would like to organise festivals for minors too, and hopes tomorrow's talks produce a solution.