Amsterdam officials have earmarked Europa Boulevard for a contentious ‘erotic centre’ project destined to replace 100 windows of its famous Red-Light District.
The municipality’s executives have deemed the boulevard in the south of the city the “most suitable location.” Their decision will be reviewed by the municipal council in early 2024, the officials said in a statement.
Justifying the project is the pressing need to reduce the nuisances and crimes linked to mass tourism and late-night revellers in the famous district.
However, opposition has been mounting since the project’s inception. Sex workers, who wish to remain within their scarlet neon-lit windows in the historic city centre, lead the protest.
Residents living close to the three pre-selected locations in the city’s north and south, announced in February that they had also joined the dissent, opposing the idea of an “enormous brothel” close to their homes.
Petitions objecting to the project have gathered tens of thousands of signatures. The European Medicines Agency (EMA), for example, was against two proposed sites near their Amsterdam South headquarters.
Ultimately, the selected location is 800 meters from the European regulator’s premises.
