After ample consultation within the Foundation Board of Corso Zundert, together with the consultative body of the existing twenty neighbourhoods and the township of Zundert the foundation Corso Zundert decided that the event on the first Sunday of September is off. This year the corona crisis makes it impossible and irresponsible to realise this huge event.
Impact of Corona
The Corona pandemic and the imposed measures to stop the virus have an impact on all layers of society. Public life has come to a standstill, more or less. Events and gatherings are forbidden till June 1st at least. Straight away or indirectly, the various measures also have consequences for the preparatory activities aiming at Corso 2020.
The twenty neighbourhoods now start planting their dahlia fields, preparing their corso building sites and building the corso floats. Obviously, dahlias are indispensable for Corso. Within the scope of the existing measures to counteract the spreading of the virus, the neighbourhoods themselves decide if they see possibilities to plant the dahlia bulbs and maintain the fields. Although – with the necessary adaptation and improvisation - some of these activities could indeed be realised during the taken measures, it is extremely uncertain if a period of time will break after June 1st during which the floats can actually be finished.
At this moment, the Foundation Corso Zundert thinks there are too many uncertain factors to continue the preparation of this huge public event. Among all considerations of the Board, the health and safety of the hundreds of volunteers and of the spectators come first. Corso Zundert has been built by its community for eighty years. It is important to keep Corso future proof for next generations. Therefore, continuity and survival of the Corso are important considerations as well.
Chairman Jos Jochems: “I understand this decision is a major disappointment for many Corso builders. Building a Corso creation in a group plays a big role in the lives of many Corso lovers in Zundert. As regards ‘social distancing’, this is not the strongest point in Corso world. Obviously, keeping distance is now the most important issue to help one another get out of this as soon as possible.”
The Board keeps following the developments and measures concerning the pandemic in order to realise alternative activities, responsibly and if possible. In the scenario that there would indeed be dahlias and the measures now taken would be relaxed, this might offer opportunities for youth to set up the children’s Corso for instance on a different date and in a different form. These are existing ideas yet to express the Corso feeling in some way.
Corso Zundert