The carnivalists in Cologne canceled the Shrove Monday parade in the stadium because of the Russian attack on Ukraine. At the traditional street carnival on Saturday, some revelers show their attitude on banners.
Düsseldorf – street carnival in the shadow of the Ukraine war: in Cologne, the revelers celebrated on Saturday before and in the pubs.
On the Neumarkt, where the largest event took place, the carnivalists reminded of the struggles in Eastern Europe with isolated banners. During the traditional procession of the Red Sparks, calls such as “Stop Putin – Stop War” could be read there. According to the police, the place was well filled.
The traditional corps Rote Funken always moves to the so-called Funken bivouac on the Neumarkt on Saturday morning before Shrove Monday. For the evening, the event “Kölle Alaaf” was planned on the Alter Markt with the performance of several bands.
However, due to the conflict in Ukraine, the live stream to choose the best carnival song of the session in the cathedral city was canceled. A presentation of the result of this year’s vote was actually planned. Instead, the organizers announce the best songs on their website on Sunday.
Cologne’s Lord Mayor Henriette Reker (independent) will take part in the peace demonstration of the Cologne Carnival Festival Committee in the city center on Monday. The city said so. Accordingly, Cologne is also ready to take in refugees from Ukraine.
The festival committee had actually planned a Rose Monday festival in the Cologne stadium with a move – but the classic move in the city had been canceled due to Corona. Under the impression of the Russian attack on Ukraine, this festival was also canceled on Thursday. Instead, there should be the demo in the city center.
According to the festival committee, a distance of around 4.5 kilometers is planned. It is supposed to lead past many of the parody wagons that were actually built for the Shrove Monday procession. Political events are satirically commented on the floats. A car should also be placed in front of the demo train – on the subject of Ukraine. Masks and the 3G rule apply at the demo.
Cologne has declared the entire city area a so-called customs zone for the carnival days. This means that revelers are allowed to celebrate in the entire public space under 2G-plus conditions: those who have recovered or have been vaccinated twice need a current negative test or a third vaccination (booster). In pubs, those who have been boosted must also have a current rapid test.
In the Corona Protection Ordinance, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia had allowed the cities to designate secured “customs zones” with the 2G-plus rule for carnival. dpa
