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Jecken in Cologne
Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd / dpa
Because of the war in Ukraine, the Cologne Carnival festival committee canceled the Shrove Monday festival planned for Monday with a parade in the Rheinenergie Stadium.
Instead, a peace demonstration with satirical floats will be organized in squares in downtown Cologne, said a spokesman for the festival committee of the dpa news agency.
The Shrove Monday festival was intended as a corona-friendly replacement for the Shrove Monday procession.
The Cologne Shrove Monday procession was supposed to go through the football stadium.
Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker had previously said that she did not want to celebrate carnival because of the war.
She said she was aware that the start of the carnival "will create head-shaking images".
She personally cannot combine the carnival and the war in Ukraine, but for many others the carnival is important.
"Everyone has to decide for themselves whether this is the right moment to celebrate," said Reker: "I'm not celebrating." At a reception in Cologne City Hall, she held a minute's silence for those who suffered from the Russian attack.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) has spoken out in favor of canceling carnival parades.
"War and carnival in Europe don't go together," said Wüst in Düsseldorf.
“I personally don't feel like celebrating at all these hours.
At this sad moment, when war has returned to Europe, I think carnival processions are completely inappropriate.«
More soon at SPIEGEL.de
kha/dpa