The Dutch port city of Rotterdam on Wednesday said it would temporarily dismantle a historic bridge to allow a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to pass.
Mr Bezos's gigantic, €430 million ($485m) yacht is too big for the Koningshaven Bridge, which dates from 1878 and was rebuilt after being bombed by the Nazis in 1940 during the Second World War.
The shipyard building the three-masted mammoth in Alblasserdam, near Rotterdam, has asked the local council to remove the bridge's central section so it can pass through.
"It's the only route to the sea," a spokesman for the mayor of Rotterdam said, adding that billionaire Mr Bezos would pay for the operation.
But the decision has angered some in the Netherlands as the local council promised after a major renovation in 2017 that it would never again dismantle the bridge, known to Rotterdammers as De Hef.
The mayor's office insisted on the economic benefits and jobs created by the construction of the boat, but promised that the bridge would be rebuilt in its current form.
The middle section of the huge steel-girdered bridge will be removed to give enough clearance for the 40-metre tall boat, Dutch media reported.
The process will take a few weeks and is expected to take place this summer.
Mr Bezos, 57, is one of the world's richest men after turning online bookseller Amazon into a global shopping giant.
When not travelling by sea on superyachts, he can be found blasting into space on his Blue Origin capsule.
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
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