Published
Mon, Sep 4, 2023, 13:00
- ://about blank, Else and Club OST all hosted stages.
Over the weekend, around 7,000 Berliners took to the streets to protest against the A100 motorway extension.
Held between the neighbourhoods of Treptower Park and Ostkreuz on Saturday, September 2nd, the protest saw a mix of Berlin ravers, industry people and climate activists dance, drink and wave home-made signs with slogans like "culture instead of concrete," "no highway to hell" and "culture instead of concrete." The potentially affected clubs—including ://about blank, Else and Club OST—all hosted stages with DJs like Amperia, Nina Berg, Sylvie Maziarz and Skankstasy.
In addition to the music, there was a strong community and climate element to the protest, with stalls from organisations like Changing Cities and speeches from groups such as Geradedenken and BerlinAutoFrei.
The protest rave was organised collaboratively by the BI A100 citizens' group, Berlin Club Commission and a handful of clubs that are at risk of closure. In a statement from earlier in the year, the Club Commission stressed that at least 21 cultural institutions are at risk from the A100 motorway extension. The 16th construction phases of the A100, which is currently under construction, will cost around €700 million. Experts believe the 17th phase could cost more than €1 billion.
German transport minister Volker Wissing and Berlin mayor Kai Wegner have both backed the motorway extension as a way to deal with Berlin's congestion and growing population.
Watch a video from Saturday's protest.
Photo: a100wegbassen Instagram channel.
Additional reporting from Anna Klein and Neo Chen.