Stand for 10,000 viewers under construction on Prinsengracht for WorldPride Canal Parade
Construction crews began building a large viewing stand Monday along Amsterdam’s Prinsengracht that will hold about 10,000 spectators for the Canal Parade, AT5 reports. The Canal Parade, part of WorldPride, is scheduled for Saturday.
Tickets for seats on the stand range from 15 to 65 euros. More luxurious options that include a seat reservation, drinks, and food cost between 200 and 275 euros.
Local residents will receive free access to the stand or a spot on the opposite side of the canal. Some said they do not need it. “I live on the third floor, so I just look over the tribune,” one resident told AT5.
Most Prinsengracht residents told AT5 they accepted the disruption created by the stand's construction. “It does cause some noise nuisance, but yes, that comes with it,” one resident said.
Some residents saw an upside. “Maybe I even have an advantage. Now a permit has been issued, and it must also be left tidy,” a neighbor said. “If that’s not the case, I can’t walk with my dog afterwards through the glass that’s lying there. Now I expect it to be left clean.”
Tourists who arrived for a quiet weekend were less pleased. “We came for a romantic weekend, but at 7 a.m. they already started hammering,” one hotel guest told AT5.
Another tourist said, "If we had known this, we might have booked a hotel elsewhere."
Amsterdam’s WorldPride started as authorities reported a deadly van attack on Berlin’s Pride celebration late Saturday that left one person dead and 29 injured. German officials called it a terrorist attack carried out by a 21-year-old Islamic State supporter. Police shot and killed the suspect the following day while attempting to arrest him. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema announced that the city would implement additional security measures for the remaining Pride events.
