Today marks the 13th anniversary of the tragedy at the Love Parade in Duisburg. Many errors in planning and implementation have led to the fatal outcome. What lessons have been learned from this?
The catastrophe may have been 13 years ago, but the commemoration in Duisburg continues. Year after year, including last night. Dozens of grave lights mark the date of the Love Parade catastrophe: July 24, 2010. The association “Citizens for Citizens” always organizes the “Night of 1000 Lights” on the eve of the anniversary. It is an invitation to pause at the place where 21 people have died and more than 650 have been injured.
“The Love Parade became a dance of death,” it said at the funeral service after the accident. The pressure of the crowds had become unbearable at the ramp, which was also the entrance and exit for the Love Parade grounds. A lot had gone wrong – on July 24th, but also before that in the planning.
Nick for organization of largeevents
It is a tragedy from which lessons have been learned, had to be learned. Jürgen Gerlach, a professor at the Bergische University in Wuppertal, has drawn up a 3,800-page report and published conclusions for the criminal proceedings at the Duisburg Regional Court that have since been discontinued. From his point of view, he writes, “only a cancellation in advance of the event could have prevented death and/or injury”.
The catastrophe 13 years ago marked a turning point for everyone who approves or organizes such large events. “Duisburg has changed everything,” says Timm Zeiss in an interview with the WDR. “There was a time before and a time after.”
Zeiss is CEO of “Rave The Planet”. The Techno Parade in Berlin is a registered demonstration that was attended by hundreds of thousands of people this year and last year. DJ Dr. Motte, initiator of the first Loveparade.
Crosses commemorate the victims of the Love Parade accident – 21 people between the ages of 17 and 38 died and hundreds were injured.
“Some bottlenecks would have been overlooked earlier”
According to organizer Zeiss, Duisburg has shown in a terrible way how problems can escalate at such a mass event. In his estimation, “significantly higher risks” had previously been taken: “Some bottlenecks would have been overlooked earlier.”
Not any longer longer. At “Rave The Planet” 2022, towards the end of the event, the police expressed concerns that people could be pushed against construction fences. The music was turned off for now. Eventually, the organizers decided to call it a day earlier than planned.
The organizers also played it safe at the Parookaville Festival in Weeze on the Lower Rhine last year. After just a few songs, the Cologne band Kasalla had to end their performance prematurely. The rush in front of the stage had become a security risk. The band later wrote on Instagram: “Sorry Parookaville we had to call it quits but safety first there were just too many of you.” Immediately after the events in Duisburg, for example, the Mecklenburg-Western Pomeranian Ministry of Transport withdrew the permit for a techno party in a tunnel.
Trial dropped with no convictions
At the Love Parade in Duisburg it was not a single cause that had fatal consequences on July 24, 2010. Many mistakes came together. The legal process took years. In the end, the most complex trial in post-war history was dropped without any convictions. Nevertheless, the district court of Duisburg is very certain that what had led to the catastrophe came to light in principle.
The finding: The party area at the old freight station was unsuitable. For the first time, the Love Parade took place in a closed area. “The isolation systems and locks were not designed for the expected number of people. Fences led to additional bottlenecks,” said judge Mario Plein on the last day of the hearing.
There was talk of a “collective failure” in the implementation. There was no functioning loudspeaker system for announcements on the festival site. Radio and cell phone connections were disrupted. A chain of mistakes accumulated in planning and execution.
“Like it was yesterday”
What can be learned from this? In 2022, the Research Society for Roads and Transport developed a comprehensive set of rules with specifications, standards and recommendations for such major events. Loveparade expert Jürgen Gerlach was also involved. And yet – even if it sounds like a truism – there can’t be 100 percent security when so many people come together in a small space.
The Love Parade disaster had consequences. She is not forgotten. In the coming year, people are likely to come together again in Duisburg for commemorations on the anniversary. And in the approval authorities and organizers, the terrible images retain their warning effect.
Timm Zeiss from “Rave The Planet” in Berlin says that there is no talk with the city, the police or the fire brigade without the accident in Duisburg being mentioned several times: “It is completely present – as if it were yesterday.”