Berlin clubbers are banding together to save some of their city’s iconic music venues with a rave to protest against the next planned construction stage of the controversial A100 motorway.
The protest was announced last week by a group called BI-A100. The group hopes to snub the 17th stage of motorway development which threatens to annihilate prominent Berlin nightclubs including ://about blank, Club OST, and Wild Renate.
A joint statement from BI-A100 and Berlin’s Clubcommission reads, “On Saturday, September 2, 2023, we declare the Markgrafendamm between Elsenbrücke to Ostkreuz a motorway-free zone.”
It continues, “As a civil society alliance of neighborhood residents, climate activists, and clubbers, we turn up the bass and invite you to a protest rave against the A100.”
The A100 – or Bundesautobahn 100 – has been in its 16th stage of construction since 2013 with building costs expected to total €700 million upon this stage’s completion. In an effort to expand the road’s circular reach to different parts of Berlin, the 17th stage is expected to be approved in the coming months and will cost an additional €800 million.
According to the Berlin Clubcommission’s Lutz Leichsenring, the costs of the proposed 17th stage will extend far beyond just the financial realm.
“In total, there are about 21 cultural venues that are in the area of this continuous autobahn construction, which is extremely threatening,” Leichsenring told Mixmag in an interview earlier this year.
The cultural venues described by Leichsenring include cinemas, clubs, bars, skateparks, and more in the nightlife areas of Mitte, Charlottenburg, Tempelhof, and Neuköln.
“On the other hand, if they do decide not to build the autobahn, there is also a threat because the real estate value will rise and landlords might aim for more profitable real estate, such as residential or office buildings.” Leichsenring continued. “We need to have a plan or vision for this area.”
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