It won't be long before the fifth season begins and the revellers are once again looking forward to the start of carnival. As every year, Cologne Carnival begins on 11 November and captivates thousands of people. The tradition of the Cologne Carnival goes back a long way historically, and it has been known in its current form for almost 200 years.
For the tourists who flock to the Rhineland - and to Cologne in particular - every year, it means partying and fun. For the people of Cologne, on the other hand, carnival means an attitude to life that gives hope and allows people to look to the future, especially in these difficult times of crisis.
It is a tradition in Cologne that there are many small and large, official and unofficial celebrations throughout the city, in addition to the large meetings of the carnival clubs. Over the last few years, one aspect has increasingly taken centre stage, namely that of safety.
However, carefree celebrations have been overshadowed in recent years by violent attacks, terrorist threats and the coronavirus pandemic. It is therefore more important than ever for the organisers to ensure sufficient security so that the guests of Cologne Carnival can feel safe and celebrate to the full despite all adversity.
At the moment, the security issue is of course also centred around safety in relation to the spread of the coronavirus. At this year's carnival in Cologne, the main focus will be on organising the safety concepts in such a way that the pandemic cannot spread further due to the crowds in Cologne.
That's why security at Cologne Carnival this year will be provided by many different organisations to make it possible for visitors to celebrate. In addition to Paffen Sicherheit, these organisations include the public order office, event and security service providers, Cologne's public transport services, the police, fire brigade and other companies.
The carnival in Cologne was cancelled in spring 2021 due to the spreading pandemic, but things are now looking much better again. The 2021/2022 carnival in Cologne will definitely take place. This decision is the result of a meeting between representatives from the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia and a delegation from the carnival strongholds.
On the one hand, the decision means anticipation and relief for all carnival fans. However, in order to meet the requirements of infection protection, access to the city centre and the carnival parade will probably only be granted to those who have been vaccinated, recovered and tested (PCR test). The Cologne Carnival Committee assumes that a carnival celebration with dancing, singing, swaying and live performances will be possible again for this group of people.
Planning for the carnival is currently in full swing. It can already be assumed that the carnival organisations themselves will be responsible for checking the 3G rules. However, children who are not yet able to be vaccinated will also be able to enjoy the popular Rose Monday parade, the Weiberfastnacht and the street carnival while collecting tomettes.
This is possible because children in schools and daycare centres are regularly tested and are therefore not considered a risk factor. At the moment, events in closed indoor spaces without restrictions due to further corona measures are also being planned. The 3G rule also applies here.
The city of Cologne is expecting a high number of visitors this carnival season. For this reason, access to certain sections that are expected to be particularly crowded, such as parts of the Old Town and the Kwartier Latäng, will be restricted by general decree. As of 11 November 2021, only people with a so-called 3G certificate (vaccinated, recovered, tested) will be granted access to these areas. Compliance with the restriction will be checked on a random basis.
However, the current Corona Protection Ordinance of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia may still change depending on how the pandemic develops. If more people become infected again, there may be further restrictions at Cologne's street carnival. The safety concept is therefore not yet finalised and it can be assumed that changes will be introduced at short notice. At the moment, no one can say what the pandemic situation will look like during the carnival season.
In order to be able to react quickly to changes in the pandemic situation, alternative options are currently being planned, such as the proclamation of the triumvirate in a smaller circle and with a livestream broadcast. Furthermore, a restriction on the number of participants in the parade is also being planned, should this become necessary. However, it can be assumed that the popular events such as the Rose Monday parade and Weiberfastnacht will still take place.
The night of New Year's Eve in 2015 and 2016 will remain in the memories of many people across the country, as there were abhorrent scenes in front of Cologne Central Station. There were not enough police officers on site at the time and they were unable to prevent sexual assaults on women. There were also thefts and robberies, as well as people being shot at with fireworks.
The police, public order office and the city of Cologne have learnt from these bad experiences. When planning major events, awareness of the dangers, especially for women, has changed.
In order to guarantee security against violent attacks, the security concept for Rose Monday, Carnival Sunday and all other events in Cologne city centre provides for a strong police presence, with massive support from private security services. This approach has proven to be an effective protective measure in recent years.
The employees of the private security services are checked by the authorities to ensure that there are no loopholes in their own ranks.
In addition, the already established glass ban in heavily frequented parts of Cologne's city centre is to be consistently enforced. The guideline „More glass without fun“ has led to a significant reduction in littering and cuts at events in Cologne for several years.
Just a few years ago, terrorist attacks were considered the greatest threat to major events. Since there was a terrorist attack at the Memorial Church in Berlin in 2016 and a lorry drove into a crowd of people, all major events in Germany must take terror prevention into account in their security concepts.
This is why counter-terrorism measures also play a very important role in the planning of the carnival. In Cologne, this aspect is particularly important due to the street carnival.
In order to make terror prevention as effective as possible, there will be stricter checks on people in the city centre, the number of private security services and police will be significantly increased and a driving ban for trucks over 7.5 tonnes will apply throughout Cologne city centre. This driving ban is to apply on Weiberfastnacht on 28 February 2021, on Carnival Sunday and on Rose Monday (3 and 4 February 2021) and will be lifted again afterwards.
On carnival days, there are localised gatherings of large crowds of people. This can lead to problems and even become dangerous. A sad example of this is the Love Parade in Duisburg in 2010. The drama at the time set the framework for large events in North Rhine-Westphalia, which primarily includes a concept for crowd management to avoid such bottlenecks.
Cologne city centre attracts a large crowd on carnival days. The party-goers head for specific gathering points to celebrate in certain places or at certain events. In the past, there have been problems with a high density of people in the student quarter in particular, which has led to a kind of state of emergency. This problem is to be solved at this year's Cologne Carnival through targeted crowd management with the help of barriers, security personnel and signage.
We are also happy to use our experience for smaller parades, celebrations and carnival sessions in neighbouring districts. We create a suitable security concept and ensure security during carnival - not only in Cologne
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