Hessen starts immediately: Safety for festivals is on the brink!

Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis: Absage von Festen wegen hoher Sicherheitskosten; Hessen initiiert Sofortprogramm für Unterstützung.
Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis: Cancellation of festivals for high security costs; Hessen initiates instant program for support. (Symbolbild/ANAG)

Hessen starts immediately: Safety for festivals is on the brink!

A new “immediate program for security” is introduced in Hesse to help municipalities and organizers who are faced with increasing security bureau. With this program, the state government provides one million euros to successfully counter the cancellations of many popular events. The background to this initiative is the numerous cancellations of village festivals, carnival parades and Christmas markets, which could no longer be carried out due to high security requirements, reports HNA .

The Main-Kinzig-Kreis, which canceled the “Kinzigtal Total” street festival, was particularly affected. The security costs for the entire 80 kilometer long line were considered too high. The car-free Sunday "Drive to the Aar" in the Rheingau-Taunus district also failed because of the fact that all access roads had to be secured. The Marburger Kirschblütenfest also had to be deleted, which underlines the high relevance of the security issues.

importance of cultural events

Hesse's Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) emphasized the social importance of these events. He explained that the security interests had to be reconciled with the event organization. "Absolute security cannot be guaranteed," says Poseck, "but we want to ensure a high level of security." From May 1st, Hessian municipalities can submit applications for the new immediate program, provided they work together on their security concepts. This should support the planning and implementation of future events.

The discussion about the security of festivals has become more important in Germany, especially after the terrible amocals that have taken place in the past. As a result, security concepts from the organizers who come from various circles, cities and municipalities are often financially burdened, such as Hessenschau reported.

challenges of implementation

In addition, reference is made to the challenges that are associated with the creation of individual security concepts for different events. Especially on weekends and public holidays there is a lack of staff with the police, which makes the implementation of such events even more complicated. Despite these difficulties, many events have taken place peacefully in recent months, which shows that the right measures can be taken with the right measures.

The new immediate program from Hessen is considered the first step to reduce uncertainties and offer the organizers more support. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how effectively these measures are implemented and whether they help to maintain the popular festivities in the region.

For further information on security concepts in Germany, you can see a sample security concept at bielefeld.de

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