Almere no longer wants to be called "Amsterdam Bay Area"

The Amsterdam Bay Area will soon get a new name. According to the city council of Almere, the Anglicism will disappear from the well-known bay's name and will instead be referred to as the "Bay of Almere" from now on.

For years, many developers have sought after the Amsterdam Bay Area, the area around the IJmeer. In the future, new living spaces will be created there. In addition to the IJburg, located on the Amsterdam side, the Almere Pampus district is also to be included.

This gives the municipality of Almere a say in the bay's future name. According to the city council, "Amsterdam Bay Area" does not sound Dutch or local enough. The name would create a distance to Almere. "As if Almere were a kind of suburb of Amsterdam," says Jeroen Dobber from Leefbaar Almere. He was also the one who proposed the name change.

Alderman Paul Tang, who is responsible for the development of Almere Pampus, understands the anger among Almere residents. However, he emphasizes that Almere is not the only place that uses this term. "We can promote a different name with our partners, but we have to carefully consider which name goes down well there," he explains to Omroep Flevoland.

The name controversy came to an end this year, as the name change was approved by an overwhelming majority of 37 out of 45 councilors. Only DENK and D66 voted against it. The Almere mayor was also delighted and pleased with the council's decision. "That's quite a name change," said the mayor.