Here comes the rain again

A sold-out Eurekaweek, a spectacular opening with live performances and inspiring speeches in De Doelen, but then… rain. This blasted rain. Sunday morning, it still seemed as if the weather wouldn’t turn out too bad, and the Eurekaweek Committee decided not to make any changes to the programme. “We thought things would clear up,” explains Nadia Dijkstra, “but by the evening, it was obvious we would have to fall back on our rain programme.”

“The people who make that call had already gone home, so we got up early in the morning to phone and email them.” Fortunately, a rain plan had already been prepared for this contingency, and everyone on campus proved very cooperative. Still, the Committee waited until around 11 a.m. before it sent out the official announcement.

“Our policy is to wait with sending push messages until they become relevant, and 11 a.m. is more or less when people started going to campus.” The University Support Centre (RES) already received the email stating the change of plans at 6:37. “They also phoned us, after which everything went quite smoothly,” says Daisy Zevenbergen.

“The hall had already been cleared for the beer cantus tomorrow evening, so they could get busy straight away.” Fortunately, most stands and associations received the message on time. For example, Cedo Nulli hadn’t started setting up their jousting arena yet. “It was still in transport, so we didn’t have to move anything. Still… it’s a pity about the rain. You get a different mood and vibe when the sun’s out and everyone’s sitting on the lawn with a cold beer,” says Lucia van der Stam.