A Dutch Facebook user has created an event to watch Brexit unfold across the sea from beach in the Netherlands — and has invited others to join him.
The event is scheduled to take place on October 31, the deadline for the UK to leave the European Union (EU), on Strand Wijk Aan Zee, a beach on the country’s west coast.
Ron Toekook invites guests to join him in “in a beach chair watching Great Britain when it wakes up as a closed institution” with “Dutch chips, French wine and German beer”.
Nearly 50,000 people had expressed interest in the event and over 7,000 said they were going at the time of publication.
“If there is enough interest, a band can come and play ‘It’s quiet across the street’ and ‘We’ll meet again’,” Toekook wrote, adding: “Other musical suggestions are welcome.”
Members of the group posted pictures of the beach where the event is set to take place along with an image of the traditional English dish of fish and chips.
Publiée par Elke Kurek sur Dimanche 18 août 2019
Some Facebook users that had signed up for the event expressed their excitement: “Looks like a lot of fun to me,” wrote Sabien Reichow.
Others suggested songs in response to Toekook’s call for contributions, which included “Somebody that I used to know” by Gotye, “Sunday bloody Sunday” by U2, “England lost” by Mick Jagger and “Every time we say goodbye” by Ella Fitzgerald.
The UK is set to leave the EU on the October 31 deadline after new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed this will happen with or without a deal.
Johnson launched an attempt to reopen Brexit negotiations on Monday night, writing to European Council President Donald Tusk seeking the removal of the Irish backstop from the existing deal.
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Tusk, along with the EU executive, on Tuesday, rebuffed the attempt, saying the letter from Johnson included no “realistic alternatives” to the backstop.
“The backstop is insurance to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland unless and until an alternative is found,” Tusk said in a tweet.
“Those against the backstop and not proposing realistic alternatives in fact support re-establishing a border. Even if they do not admit it.”
