Supermarkets and other shops in the city center of Nijmegen are not allowed to sell alcohol between 12:00 PM and midnight during the Four Days Marches festivities in July. The city council approved a proposal from the board with that intention on Wednesday evening.
35 council members voted in favor and 3 against. According to the municipal executive, the measure is necessary in view of the health risks of excessive alcohol consumption, among other things. The board also wants to prevent nuisance caused by drunk people as much as possible. Furthermore, the plan is expected to lead to less litter.
According to the board, young people in particular are inclined to drink more alcohol if shopkeepers sell large quantities of cheap drinks. That would often be the case around the Nijmegen Four Days Marches.
“Everything happens to be full of cheap alcohol that week,” said Mayor Hubert Bruls on Wednesday during the council meeting. “You make it so easy for large groups to consume large quantities of alcohol.” According to Bruls, that is now disproportionate.
Catering entrepreneurs will be happy with the measures. They use reusable cups during the Four Days Marches festivities. According to them, there is unfair competition if visitors can buy cheap alcohol at supermarkets and pop-up stores.
The measure applies from Saturday, July 12 to Friday, July 18, the period of the Four Days Marches festivities. Shops in the city center are allowed to sell drinks in the morning, “to enable residents of the city center to buy alcohol with their regular groceries.”