Bruges calls on residents to give up alcohol for a month

Not long ago, we reported on a plan to build a beer pipeline under the streets of Bruges. But now it seems the beer-loving Flemish city may go totally dry for a whole month.

The city of Bruges has called on its residents to go for 30 days without touching a drop of alcohol, De Morgen reported. Some cafes and restaurants are going so far as to put alcohol-free aperitifs at the top of the menu.

The initiative was inspired by successful campaigns in other European countries, like Dry January in the UK. Brits don’t then go binge drinking afterwards, said Marijs Geirnaert of De Vereniging voor Alcohol- en andere Drugproblemen (the Association for Alcohol and other Drug Problems). On the contrary, up to six months after the “dry month”, they drink less.  

And there are other benefits, too. In the short term, people sleep better, they feel more fit, and they shed a few kilos.

But the city hasn’t managed to convince everyone of the need to sober up. Bruges mayor Renaat Landuyt is not really keen on the idea. "This is not my thing," he told the press. "I enjoy my glass of beer or wine," he confessed.

He isn’t even convinced of the health benefits: "I am inclined to put a lot of trust in those scientists who say that one glass a day is good for you."

But he’s still going to have to cut out alcohol at some point because he made a rash promise – if 1,000 people sign up to the alcohol-free days, then Landuyt will do it for seven days. That figure has been reached and so Landuyt will keep his promise.

This doesn’t mean Bruges is going to become a beer-free city. The drink will still flow at the city’s official events, the mayor insisted. And they’re not going to stop serving Brugse Zot. We can all drink to that.