On Friday, September 30, CORPUS Congress Centre opened its doors between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. to 400 paying drinkers from the Leiden region. 'This event was sold out three weeks in advance,' says creator and organizer Joost Vetter. 'All the drinkers were very curious about the location beforehand. Very nice to see CORPUS Congress Centre being so flexible to different clients.'

Why CORPUS?

'CORPUS Congress Centre has fantastically beautiful and functional halls. However, many people do not know this because public events are rarely organized here. In the initial discussions, I indicated that with Goeie Vrijdag we are mainly focusing on exposure among a nice local target group, which will hopefully result in after-sales in the area of business meetings, parties and visitors to CORPUS ''Journey Through the Human Body.''

A surprising choice

'Well, the name says it all: CORPUS Congress Centre. It mostly hosts congresses, symposia and other corporate events.'

Why this concept?

'It originated in 2021 for lack of a good Friday drink in Leiden and the surrounding area for a nice appropriate target group. We try to innovate every edition in terms of marketing, entertainment, decoration and light and sound. Together we look at each location to see how we can create an atmospheric setting. This time, that resulted in a wonderful calling card for both CORPUS Congress Centre and Goeie Vrijdag itself.'

What was your role?

'That of organizer. During the preparation and during the event I was the point of contact for construction and dismantling, but also for decoration, technology, security, entertainment and all other logistical matters. Every edition we deck out with cheerful decors, a good sound system and atmospheric lighting. DJs and live entertainment provide the musical interpretation. For the technology we work with our regular partner ALV Productions'.

And as for cooperation with the venue?

'Of course we had made a clear division of roles in cooperation beforehand. As far as the number of visitors was concerned, we had to test what was possible and what was not. CORPUS expressed the wish to limit the number of visitors to a maximum of 400 for this edition of Goeie Vrijdag'.

Was the evening successful?

'The event itself ran like clockwork. There was a nice constant flow at the checkroom, coin sales and bars. The event took place on the second floor in the Lounge. A beautiful open space with lots of glass and an unobstructed view of Park Landskroon. Many drinkers also showed positive surprise about the location.'

What was the highlight of this event for you?

'It was one hundred percent successful anyway. But if I have to choose, I'll go for our balloon drop. As it happened, we celebrated our first anniversary exactly at midnight on September 30. With 300 brightly colored balloons. And as a playful surprise with a big fat wink Henny Huisman's hit 'Met z'n allen'. Nice and over the top. He even responded to our post about that moment via social media. Funny, right?

Written by Henny Beijer