Stockholm dance fans plan protest

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Stockholm dance enthusiasts say dance clubs should be created by those who use them and not by government licensing agencies.

The organization Dans, Trams & Acceptans plans a combined demonstration and dance celebration Saturday to protest a city ordinance that bans dancing in most bars and restaurants that do not have licenses, The Local.se reports. The group plans to gather in Humlegarden Park and then march or dance through the streets of Stockholm.

"We as participants should control the emergence of clubs and their dance floors, not the bureaucracy," the group said.

On its website, the group talks of the importance of dance in a country where winter days are short.

"During the summer we have enjoyed the warmth and welcomed the mornings to the sounds of dance music without commercial interest," the statement says. "The winter awaits and the freedom we enjoy summer turns into a battle against the authorities which require us to seek permission to dance together."

One organizer, Sonia Javer, told the newspaper Ostermalmsnytt the group has a permit for the demonstration but not for dancing.

"We have permission to protest but not to dance. But we're well aware of that," she said. "If the police should stop us then people would understand how strange the law is."