Carnival in Cologne 2022: Rose Monday procession in the stadium?

Created: 01/11/2022, 4:55 PM

From: Mick Oberbusch

Despite a previous cancellation, the Rosenmontagszug 2022 should still take place in Cologne - albeit differently than usual (archive picture).

© Christoph Hardt / Imago

After the cancellation of the Carnival Monday procession in 2022 in the traditional form, carnivalists in Cologne are pondering an alternative.

Now the stadium plans seem to be more concrete.

Cologne - The cancellation of the Cologne Rose Monday procession in 2022 did not really come as a surprise to the junkers - the big move had already fallen victim to the corona pandemic in the previous year.

But in contrast to the previous year, on Rose Monday 2022 (February 28), you do not want to completely do without the carnival hustle and bustle after several events of the 2022 session have already been canceled.

Therefore, as soon as the news became known that the "Zoch" could not take place to the usual extent, an alternative was feverishly searched for.

One of the proposals in circulation now seems to be taking concrete shape: According to this, the Rose Monday procession could actually take place as the Rose Monday festival in the RheinEnergie Stadium this year.

Cologne: Rose Monday procession 2022 in the RheinEnergie Stadium?

• Instead of the Rose Monday procession, a Rose Monday festival could take place in the RheinEnergie Stadium on

  February

  28

  ,

  2022

• The festival committee asked its

  member societies

  whether such an event would be of interest to them

• The festival committee (FK) is already in talks with the

  WDR

  and the

  Cologne

  sports facilities

  regarding the possible implementation

• How exactly the Rose Monday festival should look like and whether a

  mini-train

  will actually pull through the stadium in Müngersdorf is currently still open

24RHEIN reached train conductor Holger Kirsch - and he was cautiously optimistic about the alternative in the home ground of 1. FC Köln.

“Of course we also have to start with our planning.

That is why we have now written to inquire about the willingness of the members whether they would like to take part in this format. ”Because: If a Rose Monday festival should take place in the stadium, the societies would probably not be able to appear in full and would have to select a few members to take part may.

That could cause Zoff within the societies - but the festival committee (FK) hopes that the joy of a carnival event would be greater than the concerns.

The Cologne Rose Monday Parade - an event with a long tradition

The 

 Parade is the largest carnival parade in Germany and is considered the highlight of the Cologne Carnival. As the name suggests, it usually takes place every year on Shrove Monday and is organized by the Cologne Carnival Festival Committee. The "Zoch", which has been held since 1823, is also the oldest of the great German Rose Monday procession. Costumed foot groups, music bands and bands, riders, floats and support vehicles take part in the parade, which is usually around eight kilometers long. The train path is a little over seven kilometers long. Meanwhile, jackets wait out on the streets and are happy about "Kamelle" (sweets) or "Strüßjer" (bouquets of flowers) thrown from the wagons.

“We consider the plan to celebrate the Rose Monday procession in whatever form to be a feasible option.

We are already in talks with the WDR, which would then broadcast the event, and also the Cologne sports facilities.

They support us a lot in this matter, so I can now say a huge thank you for them, ”Kirsch continued.

In addition, you can then give the trio “a little present” on Rose Monday.

So far, Prince Sven I. (Sven Oleff), Bauer Gereon (Gereon Glasemacher) and Jungfrau Gerdemie (Dr. Björn Braun) had been withheld from all major events for known reasons.

The three were recently proclaimed again in a WDR broadcast.

Carnival 2022: “Zoch” on Rose Monday in the Rheinenergie-Stadion?

Kramp: "We would try"

The decisive factor for whether the stadium party on Rose Monday can really take place, however, remains the corona situation.

Michael Kramp, head of communications at FK, is also aware of this.

“Of course we still have to pay attention to how the infection situation develops, there are still six weeks until Rose Monday.

If 1. FC Köln can play in front of an audience again in the coming weeks, the event in the stadium could definitely be a possibility - then we would probably try it too, ”he explains in an interview with 24RHEIN.

Nothing is concrete yet, but the planning is at least a bit advanced.

For many carnivalists after two years, if at all, of limited partying, this is probably not the worst news.