Dutch cultural sector protests pandemic lockdown measures
ABC News
Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw orchestra has played second fiddle to a pair of hairdressers
AMSTERDAM -- Amsterdam's Concertgebouw orchestra played second fiddle Wednesday to a pair of hairdressers. Vincent van Gogh's self-portraits were briefly upstaged by a nail salon and barber as civil disobedience to protest the Dutch coronavirus lockdown spread Wednesday to the cultural sector.
The Netherlands has been in a tough lockdown since mid-December. Under an easing of restrictions announced Friday businesses like hairdressers and gyms and nonessential stores were allowed to reopen, but museums, theaters and cinemas, along with bars and restaurants, have to remain closed.
The tough Dutch lockdown is running into increasing anger from businesses hit by the restrictions. Last week and over the weekend hundreds of Dutch bars and restaurants also opened their doors as a protest against the lockdown they say is crippling their businesses.
On Wednesday it was the turn of the cultural sector, who turned themselves into businesses such as hairdressers or nail salons to press home their demand to reopen.
