The
first is in Amsterdam's Vondelpark, a magnificently landscaped green-space in the Dutch capital. Hundreds pack together to celebrate unseasonably warm February days. "It's not allowed, but we'll do it anyway,' one young woman told Dutch TV. "This can't go on. They can't leave us at home. We're getting depressed."
Video shot by a local Amsterdam news network at the Vondelpark showed the euphoria of young people who, as another woman said, were "fed up" with the rules.
The police crack down. The mayor closes off all but two entrances to the park, so that police can monitor all arrivals.
The second crowd is just a few kilometers away, a few days later, at the Ziggo Dome concert hall. Hundreds file inside to hear the folk singer André Hazes, Jr., croon his corny songs, and sing along.
This time, there is no crackdown. In fact, this time it has explicit approval from the government to disregard the 30-person limit on the few types of indoor gatherings that are allowed.
Everyone in attendance tested negative for coronavirus no more than 48 hours beforehand. They're all wearing electronic tags to track contacts. It's part of a government-backed experiment to see how the events industry can get back on its feet in a country that, like much of mainland Europe, has been slow to roll out vaccinations.
It was like landing "in a sort of dream where everything is allowed again," says Vivian Nagelkerke, 26, who went to the concert with a friend. "It was really legendary to just be back in a concert hall. Before the pandemic I went to concerts three times a week."
