A controversial plan to build an amphitheater in the heart of a desert nature reserve in southern Israel has been halted, temporarily at least, because there were no bids from contractors.
The Mitzpe Ramon Local Council said in a statement that the tender for the facility in the Ramon crater included various restrictions related to nature preservation that impacted the economic viability of the project.
Green groups, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA), the Environmental Protection Ministry and the Tourism Ministry have all opposed the planas they did a decade ago when it was first approved but not implemented.
Critics have warned that the light, noise and dirt from performances would disturb and harm local wildlife, but that the area’s prestigious status as the only international starlight reserve in the Middle East could be removed.
Tens of thousands of stargazers flock to the Negev Desert crater annually in August to watch the dramatic Perseid meteor shower in clear skies unaffected by light pollution.
In 2017, following years-long efforts by the INPA and other organizations, the International Dark-Sky Association accorded the site the prestigious status of an international starlight reserve.
The council’s plan has called for a facility that would hold 10 shows for the public each year on nights with a full moon, and a further four events for the council.
It envisaged setting up temporary stages on a 15-dunam (3.7-acre) area of former gypsum quarries, close to the Selina company’s glamping (glamourous camping) site, west of Route 40.
The area is surrounded by a nature reserve.
