AMSTERDAM'S 'BEST NEIGHBOURHOOD' CELEBRATIONS : 750TH HONOURS

AMSTERDAM'S '' best neighbourhood '' to star in 750th celebrations.

Amsterdam kicks off year-long celebrations last Sunday to mark the 750th anniversary with one ancient and formerly down-at-heel neighbourhood playing a starring role in the festivities.

Sitting cheek by jowl with the city's Canal Belt, the once working class Jordaan neighbourhood is the setting for a new musical which the producers said captured the essence of the Dutch capital and its residents.

'' We specifically designed a musical to celebrate Amsterdam's 750th anniversary, '' said Marc Muller, producer at the DeLaMar Theatre where the musical '' Onze Jordaan '' [ Our Jordaan ] hit the planks to a full house on Wednesday evening.

'' From October 27 the city will enter its year-long celebration and we thought a musical is an ideal way to contribute to the festivities, '' Muller said. Any mention of the Jordaan in the Netherlands will immediately be greeted by a knowing smile.

For many Dutch citizens, Amsterdam is best exemplified not by its gritty and notorious red light district, but by the Jordaan.

'' This is the best neighbourhood in the Netherlands,'' Evert Jansen said during a visit.

'' The best actors, the best singers, the best footballers are all from here - [ Ruud ] Gullit and [ Johan ] Cruyff the best comes from here,'' said Jordaan born-and-bred Jansen, 82, sporting a typical Amsterdam flat cap.

Built in parallel to the Canal Belt during the so-called Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, many of its streets and canals today will carry the names of plants and flowers. [ AFP]