Discontent due to blockade: Old Town Festival in Salzgitter has to be postponed!

Discontent due to blockade: Old Town Festival in Salzgitter has to be postponed!

The traditional old town festival in Salzgitter, originally planned for June 27th, started under unfortunate auspices. Shortly before the start of the festival, the operator of the popular “Break Dancer” ride, Frank Noack, had to dismantle his stand due to blocked rescue and escape routes. This led to massive disagreements with the city leadership and the local police. Noack complains about a financial loss of 20,000 euros and expressed his dissatisfaction about the lack of communication in advance, which made planning the festival much more difficult. The News38 report highlights that the difficulties are not only financial in nature, but that the safety of visitors was also at risk.

The problems began on the Thursday before the festival when Noack was asked to dismantle the ride because it was not placed in the approved location. The first chairman of the Salzgitter Citizens' Festival Committee, Michael Buse, emphasized the urgency of functioning rescue and escape routes, especially at major events. The police and the public order office are challenged here in a sensitive area of ​​tension, which is explained in detail by regionalheute.de.

Backgrounds and security concept

Buse explained that the signage of escape and rescue routes had already been visibly posted before the festival started. In addition, the commissioned area on Petershagener Straße was leased to a general tenant who is responsible for allocating partial areas to showmen. When the location of the “Break Dancer” no longer met safety requirements, intervention was inevitable. Buse highlighted the need to avoid such conflicts in the future, especially in light of tragic incidents such as the Love Parade, which highlight the importance of security precautions at events. This is based on a security concept, which is relevant for all major events.

The discussion about safety at such events is not new. The orientation framework for major events, which was created by an interdepartmental working group, offers organizers guidelines for planning and implementation. A structured and transparent process is essential to ensure security and clearly define responsibilities. The report also describes how coordinating committees will be formed from relevant offices to assess security measures.

Finally, Frank Noack pointed out that in the future he would consider whether participating in events in Salzgitter still made sense. He feels that his concerns and the damage caused are not being taken seriously, which will not make the discussions about the old town festival and its design any easier. We can only hope that those responsible learn from these incidents and that future festivals can not only be a celebration for the visitors, but also a safe event for everyone involved.