What Happened: Floriade Almere 2022
Floriade, over and done with?
Sometime far back in the past, I remember going to, what I thought to be, a large theme park. At first, I mistook it for the Efteling (For non-Dutchies: A kind of Disneyland): it took a long time of driving in traffic jams to get there, the car park was packed to the brim and large crowds were walking towards the entrance and paying generous sums of money to enter. Instead of the Efteling, however, the place I was actually at, the Floriade in Venlo, would be completely gone in 6 months, and would only be back 10 years later in Almere.
The Floriade, also known as the world horticulture exhibition, has been organised every decade since 1960 and is an international platform to share innovations in the field of horticulture. Although horticulture is (probably) not the reason one is interested in civil engineering, the Floriade is nonetheless an interesting case study. It is a large and complex project which requires almost a decade of designing, planning, and constructing. Besides, it is also a place where many innovations related to civil engineering are tried and tested. A prime example is the Euromast in Rotterdam, which was built specially for the first Floriade. Examples in Almere are a bridge made of old, reused bridge parts, a circular house made entirely bio-based materials, and even foreign concepts, such as building a city in the barren desert.
Unfortunately, the concept of the Floriade is in dire straits, as the organisation is always a financial disaster for the municipality that is brave enough to organize it. Even its earnest purpose as a platform for innovation seems doubtful sometimes. What happened, and does the Floriade still make sense?
At all costs
One of the bizarre facts that make the Floriade seem senseless are the associated costs. Whilst the Floriade is a platform for private companies to share their innovation, the largest part is paid by the taxpayer. The total costs for organizing a Floriade have always stayed very obscure, but it is estimated that about € 200 million of tax money is needed to organise it.
Besides these high costs, comparable to the costs of creating a brand-new theme park, the required investment is very unpredictable. The municipality of Almere originally invested € 10 million for the event, but after some setbacks this investment rose to € 60 million. There are several factors why this edition of the Floriade required so much extra investment, but the crux of the matter is Almere’s plan to build 660 innovative and sustainable homes on the location of the Floriade. This drastically complicated the project due to all the additional infrastructure and consultation required. Because of the unexpected costs, but also the housing crisis, it is likely an additional 1000 houses will be realised in the area after the exhibition has ended. The properties can then be sold to try and return some investment. Whether this is enough, is doubtful; a former Floriade director thinks a loss of € 100 million for the municipality of Almere is not out of the picture.
At the bottom line, the exhibition will always be a financial loss. The underlying cause for this is that most of the event’s infrastructure is temporary. Think of parking lots and roads, but also entire buildings. In addition, the 6 months the park is open to the public is too short a time to sell enough tickets to get a reasonable return on investment. Still, municipalities keep falling into the trap. Is the exhibition such a ‘must have’ that municipalities want to organise it no matter the costs?
Political tool
A point could be made for the Floriade that it is about more than just the financial costs and benefits. It is a platform for new ideas, for people from all over the world to share their knowledge. While this all sounds very noble and is, to some degree, true, it is not a simple excuse to keep hosting the Floriade. More often than not, the Floriade is used as a political tool to save face. It is no coincidence all host cities have amongst the highest unemployment rates in the country; the Floriade is used to persuade businesses and people to settle in the region and give boost the area’s image.
To boost their image, organisers showcase their ability and willingness to create new facilities: buildings, roads, parking lots and even gondola systems. All for an event that lasts no longer than 6 months, after which most of it has no use anymore and is demolished. This ironically runs counter to the event’s always prominent theme of sustainability and circularity. The presence of the A6 highway through the grounds of the Floriade in Almere also leaves a sour taste in the mouths of visitors, as it hard to see how this reflects this year’s theme of ‘growing green cities’.
Floriade to the future
Nevertheless, a misaligned theme seems like the least of the Floriade’s problem right now. The event is both environmentally and financially unsustainable. The exhibition costs an obscene amount, is financially unpredictable and has been for its entire existence. Also, the Floriade’s saving grace, its claim to be a platform for innovation, is undermined by its use as a political tool for municipalities.
Should a new Floriade be organized again in 10 years? Probably not. In this age of communication the original purpose of exhibitions, to share knowledge and ideas, is dead as a dodo. The concept of a large ‘theme park’ that exists for 6 months only and focuses on sustainable innovations is, ironically, not sustainable. It is up to the organisers of the next Floriade, if there will be one, to redesign the event. Only then will the Floriade be able to keep disappointing children who think they are going to the Efteling.
Author: Dylan van Bezooijen
