Police in western Germany have brought the popular Rock am Ring festival to a temporary close and evacuated around 90,000 music fans from the site, in response to a “concrete” threat of a terrorist attack.
The evacuation order was given on the first night of the three-day festival, which takes place in the city of Nuremberg. In a statement to media, festival organisers said:
“Because of a terrorist threat situation, the police have asked the organisers of ‘Rock am Ring’ to interrupt the festival temporarily as a precautionary measure, also so that they can carry out investigations in the event space. All visitors are requested to leave the festival site in a controlled and quiet manner and make for the exits and camping sites.”
Australia’s own The Living End were set to perform on the first night of the festival, which is headlined this year by Rammstein, System Of A Down and Die Toten Hosen.
Die Polizei hat uns vorsorglich angewiesen, das Festival zu vorläufig zu unterbrechen. Bitte begebt euch ruhig in Richtung Campingplätze. pic.twitter.com/ubCIlMbb9t
— Rock-am-Ring (@rockamring) June 2, 2017
The threat came less than two weeks after 22 people were killed in a terrorist bombing at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena.
A tribute concert for victims of the bombing, headlined by Grande herself, will go ahead on Sunday, local time, with proceeds going to the We Love Manchester emergency fund.
Also scheduled to perform are Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Niall Horan, Coldplay, Take That, Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, Usher, Robbie Williams, Little Mix and the Black Eyed Peas.
It is rumoured at this stage that Madonna may also appear.
Source: Fairfax.
Photo: Rock Am Ring / Facebook.
