German Music Festival to Resume after Thousands Evacuated

A music festival attracting 80,000 people in Germany that was evacuated yesterday after cops warned of a “terrorist threat” will resume today.

Organisers asked all attendees to leave the Rock am Ring festival in Nuerburg, Germany, following what they say was a security warning by police.

But in a Facebook post today they said it would reopen after police gave them the green light.

They said: “This is the news we have all been waiting for: Rock am Ring 2017 will go on! After intensive searches and sweeps of the entire festival site by the police, the suspicion of a potential terrorist threat has not been confirmed.”

They added that Day 2 would be resumed in the early afternoon and that “the incredibly disciplined fans deserve all our respect and gratitude.”

Yesterday Koblenz police said they had received information of a “concrete threat” against the event.

In a statement, police officials said they were in possession of “concrete elements, in the light of which a possible terrorist threat cannot be ruled out.”

It added: “As safety is the key priority and any danger to festivalgoers has to be avoided as much as possible, a decision has been taken to suspend the festival for today.”

A statement on the event’s official Facebook page asked revellers to remain calm and vacate the site in an orderly fashion:

Due to a terrorist threat the police have advised us to interrupt the festival. We ask all festival visitors to leave the festival site in a calm and controlled manner towards the exits and camping grounds. We have to support the police investigations. All visitors will be kept informed about any developments on all Rock am Ring Social Media channels, radio and the speakers. We hope that the festival will continue tomorrow. Thank you for your cooperation.

As music fans filed out of the stage area, they could be heard singing Liverpool FC anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone.

The event is being held at Nuernburgring – an arena best known for motorsports.

Over 80,000 festival-goers were expected to attend the festival this weekend, which was due to run until Sunday evening, although the actual figure was in upwards of 175,000.

German metal band Rammstein was the Friday night headliner, but had not yet started playing when the evacuation began.

Cops had already increased security for the event in the wake of the Manchester concert bombing last week.

More than 1,200 officers were policing the event after Salman Abedi massacred 22 people at Manchester Arena during a concert by Ariana Grande.

The hunt is now on for any accomplices the Manchester bomber might have had, with cops raiding properties and making arrests across the UK.

Officers evacuated a street in the city today as they investigated a “significant” Nissan Micra linked to the killer.