Out and about until the early hours and going out to new places. Earlier this month, a large majority of Eindhoven politicians voted in favour of a plan to make that possible. But what do Eindhoven partygoers think of the plan?
During the night, Studio040 speaks to various partygoers in the city. At Club Pixl on Strijp-S, where the Vriendenboekje (friends book) event takes place, there is an enthusiastic atmosphere. “Let me go on until 06:00 in the morning, that would be great! This also means more turnover for the entrepreneurs in Eindhoven”, a partygoer says. Another Eindhoven resident is less enthusiastic: “For me, it doesn’t have to be that late, but when I was younger, I would have thought this was a great plan. It really depends on your age and the music”.
Mixed feelings
The organisation of the Eindhoven party Vriendenboekje has mixed feelings about the expansion of the nightlife. Berend Bormans, one of the organisers, thinks that extending the opening hours will not change much for their target group. “Our visitors actually want to start earlier and like to be in bed at 02:00”. However, his co-organiser, Lex de Jong, does see opportunities for part of the audience: “There is a group that only starts at 23:00 and they want to go on until the early hours. For them, this is a good idea”.
Earlier, several entrepreneurs said they were happy with the extension of the times. “We can talk about it a lot together. But we can also just do it. If Eindhoven wants to put itself on the map internationally and grow, then a nightlife is also part of that”, one of the initiators of the Nacht van Strijp (night of Strijp), Jan Buys, said.
Locations
Bormans thinks it is especially important that Eindhoven focuses on new locations to party in the city. “You want to have somewhat underground places for those new genres, but there are almost none in Eindhoven”, he says. A partygoer agrees: “There are so many empty buildings in Eindhoven, make sure that they are used for nightlife, that is desperately needed”.
Late night
The decision to expand the nightlife is partly based on a trial from last year, in which entrepreneurs are allowed to stay open until 08:00 in the morning on fifteen days a year with a special permit, a so-called ‘verlaatje‘ (late night).
With the new plan, the city council not only allows the clubbing people to be able to stay longer, but also wants the nightlife to spread to more alternative locations outside Stratumseind. In this way, the city hopes to create a more varied nightlife that would better suit the fifth largest city in the Netherlands.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
