Amsterdam bars to stay open for World Cup matches

Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan has announced that restaurants, bars, and cafes will be allowed to stay open for an hour later than usual to show Dutch matches in the knockout stages of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They will also be permitted to put up additional TVs and big screens for the tournament. Cafés with a licensed terrace or patio may place TVs outside, but outside beer taps are still not permitted, according to Dutch newspaper het Parool. However, these regulatory relaxations do not apply to businesses in the vicinity of either the Rembrandtplein or Leidseplein entertainment districts. Cafés wanting to participate must apply for a license by June 20th. As usual, large screens will be setup on Museumplein for public viewing of Oranje matches. After the group stages, when games can start from 10pm instead of 9pm, the public showings may move to either the Olympic Stadium or the ArenA. This depends on coordination with the event organizers, radio 538, the newspaper says. Organizers say that if the events prove as popular as the 2010 World Cup, when 200,000 people tried to watch the final in Museumplein, fans may need to purchase tickets for about five euros each. According to Van der Laan, the ticket price may include two drinks so that "it remains basically free." Britt Slegers contributed to this report