UPDATE: Feb 3rd, the decision has been made and it’s now official.
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The local authorities have announced their plan to ban sales of alcoholic drinks after 22:00 until 06:00 in the morning. The ban will relate to all shops, gas stations etc, basically everything except cafes, restaurants and clubs. Speaking of cafes and clubs, there’s also an initiative to implement a limit on working hours of cafes to 23h, because of the noise. Also, the agency for intellectual property, copyright and authors’ rights announced they will start charging owners of any establishment playing any kind of music (local or foreign) a fee that could amount up to several hundred EUR per month depending on type and size of establishment. All this is seen as an attack on Belgrade’s “trademark” and the thing the city became known for in Europe and the world – party and nightlife. But is it all that terrible?
The problem with the alcohol is not the availability at all times but the fact that nobody ever asks for an ID if a kid is buying beer. The law is there but is not being implemented properly. The problem with the noise is something to think about, on the other hand, especially when it comes to cafes who really don’t care about the sound isolation and are located in a building where people actually live and try to sleep before 03 AM.
The problem with the authors’ rights is a complex one. While the authors do deserve to get something in return for the music they create, nobody understand how the collected money will be distributed, especially to the foreign artists. Again, the issue is lack of trust in local institutions.
Well at least the smoking ban did not hurt the nightlife – there still isn’t a single club in the city that became smoke-free.
See more great photos at: Andrej_Filev
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Okay, it is absolutely retarded banning the sale of alcohol after 10. atleast make it 12. at 10:00 people are just preparing to go out. the smoking ban was also retarded and the ban on cafe’s working hours is also stupid. This is just going to hurt Serbia in the long run. As much as we hate to admit it, Serbia does not have much going for it right now. In terms of tourism, there is isn’t much Serbia can do to attract tourists. We have no sea, and other than a couple cities in Vojvodina that are genuinly beautiful and historic, there isn’t much to see other than Belgrade. Belgrade has slowly built itself a relationship as a party city. This means tourists, mostly from neighrboing countries, come here on weekends and SPEND their money, go out and help the economy. If these bans continue, Belgrade will become like Zagreb, where the nightlife sucks largely because these bans are mostly adhered to. Sure, it makes the capital look clean and European, but it does not help the local economy. If you take away Belgrade’s party status, then it doesn’t have much else to offer.
Well I can see one thing coming from the alcohol sale ban, the Zeleni Venac underground passage and all parks where people hang out to drink will become infested with bootleggers selling beer/bottles during the night hours, especially on weekends. And I doubt any municipal inspectors patrol the streets by night. Way to go Belgrade, you’ve added something new to your already thriving black market.
While I agree the ban on alcohol sales seems a bit strange, the argument that a smoking ban hurts tourism in Serbia is pretty weak.
Pervasive smoke is one of the things I warn prospective vistors about when they come to Belgrade. It’s a detraction for anybody coming from a country with lower rates of smoking and with more modern laws relating to health in the workplace.
Which countries have lower rates of smoking and more modern health and workplace laws? Just about every country where people have enough money to travel for the sake of tourism.
Foreigners don’t need smoke to party in Serbia, and the majority find it offensive. Serbia is more friendly for tourism without it.
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