Dutch residents vow to egg Bezos yacht if historic bridge is dismantled

View of the Koningshaven Bridge, known as De Hef, (The Lift), in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. A plan to dismantle the historic bridge in the heart of Dutch port city so that a huge yacht, reportedly being built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, can get to the North Sea is unlikely to be plain sailing. Reports this week that the city had already agreed to take apart the recently restored bridge sparked anger in the city, with one Facebook group set up calling for people to pelt the multimillion dollar yacht with rotten eggs. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

by: Natalie Prieb, The Hill via Nexstar Media Wire

Posted: Feb 10, 2022 / 08:42 PM MST

Updated: Feb 10, 2022 / 08:45 PM MST

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(The Hill) — Dutch residents are vowing to egg Jeff Bezos‘ yacht as it passes through the city of Rotterdam after the city decided to dismantle a historic bridge in order to allow the yacht to pass.

More than 14,000 people have indicated on Facebook that they are “interested” and 4,000 have confirmed they will attend an event titled “Throwing eggs at superyacht Jeff Bezos.”

The bridge, named Koningshavenbrug and referred to as De Hef by locals, was built over the Maas River in 1878 and was damaged during the Nazi bombardment of Rotterdam in 1940. After the bridge was partially dismantled for renovations in 2017, the Rotterdam council pledged it would never be dismantled again.

“Calling all Rotterdammers, take a box of rotten eggs with you and let’s throw them en masse at Jeff’s superyacht when it sails through the Hef in Rotterdam,” event organizer Pablo Strörmann wrote on the Facebook event page.

Strörmann told the NL Times that the Facebook event started as a joke among friends but “quickly struck a nerve” with the local community.

Bezos’ new megayacht, which will be too tall to sail under the bridge once its three large masts are at full height, is being constructed by the Oceano shipyard in Alblasserdam. It is expected to be the largest sailing yacht in the world at 127 meters long.

In response to the backlash, Rotterdam’s mayor told reporters Thursday that “no decision has yet been taken, not even an application for a permit,” according to The Guardian.