Germany’s Rock am Ring festival reopened Saturday after authorities shut it down Friday night over a potential terrorism threat, forcing the event’s more than 80,000 attendees to disperse.
Police searched the festival grounds near the Nürburgring race track thoroughly before declaring it once again safe for visitors, the BBC reports. The event was stopped on Friday after someone “of non-German origin”—thought by police to have extremist ties—was found backstage with two others whose names did not match those on their passes.
According to ABC, three people were arrested and their apartments searched. All were released early Saturday, though they remain under investigation.
A statement posted to the festival’s Facebook page announced that the show was once again open for business:
Rock am Ring 2017 will go on! After intensive searches and sweeps of the complete festival site by the police the suspicion of a potential terrorist threat has not been confirmed.
Set up for day 2 of Rock am Ring has commenced and the program is going to be resumed in the early afternoon. The incredibly disciplined fans deserve all our respect and gratitude.
The scare came less than two weeks after a suicide bomber left 22 dead and more than 50 injured at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. In a statement, police acknowledged that their hyper-vigilance was on account of the rawness that continues to linger from the incident. From Billboard:
“With regard to the latest attack on a concert in Manchester, the security concept for Rock am Ring was modified in advance and the number of operational forces increased significantly to around 1,200,” Koblenz police said in a statement. “We take all references and all suspicious moments very seriously and follow them intensively. After a threat could not be ruled out, all necessary measures were taken immediately.”
Friday’s announcement, which came just ahead of Rammstein’s headlining set, resulted in 86,000 people evacuating in the span of around 15 minutes.
DISCUSSION
Germany, where terrorist attacks are a very real and pressing concern: “Will all 86,000 attendees please evacuate the premises in a calm and orderly fashion?”
America, where you’re more likely to be killed by a turkey fryer accident than a terrorist: “Will all 200 attendees please evacuate the premises in a calm and orderly fashion?”