Germany’s public festivals and cultural traditions are facing a crisis as rising terror threats and stricter security measures lead to widespread cancellations.
Organizers say they cannot afford or manage the increasingly complex safety protocols imposed by authorities following recent attacks, including one on a Christmas market in Magdeburg and another during a trade union demonstration in Munich.
Across the country, popular events are being scrapped due to security concerns and skyrocketing costs. In the town of Lage, the annual spring fair was canceled this week because organizers would have needed 30 trucks to meet safety standards. Marburg’s cherry blossom festival in April was also called off due to an “abstract terrorist threat.” In Berlin, the beloved May Bölschefest — a fair and flea market — was scrapped because securing the streets while allowing space for trams created a security gap.
“We didn’t make it easy for ourselves,” said organizer Hans-Dieter Laubinger. “We struggled with the decision for a long time. We are canceling the festival.”
The crisis has sparked fears that Germany could lose a vital part of its cultural heritage. Klaus-Ludwig Fess, head of German carnivals, warned that traditional customs are at risk, while Frank Hakelberg, executive director of the German Association of Exhibitors and Market Traders, stressed that ensuring safety should be the state’s responsibility, not that of individual event organizers.
“We have about 9,700 folk festivals. Each of them is important and unique for its city, village, or region. It is unacceptable for organizers to handle security themselves,” Hakelberg said.
“Folk festivals are the basis of life for showmen. Every cancellation is bitter. More and more cancellations pose an existential threat,” he added.
Berlin is set to become the first federal state to introduce a dedicated security law for large events, including concerts, marches, and marathons. The legislation, expected to pass before the end of the parliamentary term, will impose binding security requirements on organizers, which could have an adverse effect on the viability of holding such events.
Meanwhile, the cancellations continue. Traditional flea markets and folk festivals have been scrapped in cities like Rheinfeld in Baden and Schongau in Bavaria.
Several towns have also called off Walpurgis Night celebrations, an ancient tradition involving the burning of witches.
Despite concerns, financial constraints should not be an obstacle, according to the German newspaper Bild, which points out that Germany has recently taken on hundreds of billions in debt to strengthen civil defense.
Some argue that a portion of these funds should be allocated to securing cultural events, ensuring they can continue without jeopardizing public safety.
Carnivals and other public gatherings have increasingly become targets of terrorist attacks in recent years.
In August last year, during a diversity festival in Solingen, a 26-year-old Syrian Islamist, Issa al Hassan, stabbed three people to death, two of whom were involved in pro-refugee activities. Eight others were injured. The attack was later praised by Voice of Khorasan, an extremist magazine affiliated with the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISPK), a branch of IS operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
More recently, in December 2024, a Saudi national drove his vehicle into a crowd at the Magdeburg Christmas market, killing six people and injuring at least 299 others. Just two weeks before, an Iraqi man was arrested for allegedly planning an attack on a Christmas market in Augsburg, Bavaria.
