Carnival Cologne: Will it be the worst 11.11. any times? The concern: crowds and chaos on Zülpicher Straße.
Cologne – In less than a month the time has come: On 11.11. traditionally begins the Cologne carnival. But not everyone is looking forward to the opening of the session with enthusiasm. Many citizens, but also politicians, restaurateurs, the Cologne Carnival festival committee and even the city itself are concerned: of chaos around Zülpicher Straße and 11.11., which will not only repeat the conditions of last year in Cologne, but could even top it. “Let’s not fool ourselves: November 11th will be beautiful. Not this year either,” said Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker.
Carnival 2023 in Cologne: threatened on November 11th Chaos?
In the last session, the pictures from Zülpicher Strasse in Cologne went around the world. Thousands of people celebrating in a small space, alcoholics and aggressive visitors who climbed over the barriers. But why is the fear so great this year?
- More party people in Cologne – the session opening falls on a Friday this year
- Celebrate like before: the first eleventh in the eleventh since 2019 without strict corona rules
- Cologne is poorly prepared for these crowds of visitors
11.11. in Cologne: Session opening in a few weeks – still many unanswered questions
Everything should be different at the Cologne Carnival 2023. It was discussed, discussed and decided: The city finally approved a security plan worth millions. On 11.11. The city is no longer responsible for security at the party hotspot, but the private security company “MasterLogistic”. The security concept for Zülpicher Strasse will be revised again.
However, details of the security concept are still not known – although the opening of the 2023 session will take place in a few weeks. And that is exactly what causes criticism. “The responsible administration had almost a whole year, but there are no concrete plans,” district mayor Andreas Hupke recently criticized to 24RHEIN.
He fears the worst: “This is an excess of drinking with 30,000 people. This isn’t carnival. That’s Ballermann.” And he’s not alone in that. Restaurateurs and the traditional carnival also have concerns about urban planning in the Zülpicher Straße area. For years, the area in the center of Cologne has been a party hotspot – even outside of the carnival.
Cologne Carnival: Security concept for Zülpicher Straße – many questions still unanswered
But especially on 11.11. and during the carnival days it gets crowded around Zülpicher Straße – probably again this year. Because while there was a so-called relief area on the university meadow recently, it will be omitted this year. There should be a replacement for that. “We’re just clarifying the final details,” explains a city spokeswoman to 24RHEIN.
However, it is not yet known what exactly it will look like and where the new relief zone will be built. However, an official date for when the security concept will be presented is not yet known. (jw)
