Amsterdam nightclubs sold out for planned Covid protest reopening

Amsterdam nightclubs sold out of all tickets on offer for their planned reopening in protest of Dutch coronavirus measures. The organizations involved in the event, called De Nacht, said 15,000 tickets were available. The clubs were largely forced to close for the past two years.

Music venues in other cities in the country are also joining, such as 013 in Tilburg, Patronaat in Haarlem, Fluor in Amersfoort, De Helling in Utrecht and Annabel in Rotterdam. The action was announced last week by the sector organization Nachtbelang and the Amsterdam Clubs Consultation (OAC) via a video on Instagram. The initiators said they are tired of the fact that the government's plans to reopen society still do not include nightlife. According to the current rules, the hospitality industry must close at 10 p.m. and assigned seating is mandatory.

Representatives of the sector held talks on Monday with Economics Affairs Minister Micky Adriaansens. After the meeting, Pieter de Kroon of the OAC said that the nightclubs will still open their doors in protest.

On Friday, Adriaansens already indicated that there will be no early relaxation of measures for nightclubs before the next coronavirus policy review on February 15. She also warned that entrepreneurs who do not comply with the rules risk a fine.

According to De Kroon, the representatives had a "good conversation with the the minister. She wants to offer a fresh perspective on the situation on Friday, he said.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Economic Affairs said that Adriaansens listened carefully to the entrepreneurs during the consultations and heard about their experiences. "They have put forward ideas about how they envision a responsible opening. It has mainly concerned matters such as ventilation, capacity, door policy." Coronavirus access passes were also discussed, but not specifically the 1G policy which requires everyone to get tested for coronavirus regardless of vaccination or recovery status before entering a hospitality business, the spokesperson said.