Authorities suspended the crowded event on its opening night on Friday, asking the visitors to leave in a “controlled and calm” manner. The preemptive move was based on “concrete leads, which do not allow us to eliminate a possible terror threat,” the police said, adding that “safety comes first.” Reports Deutsche Welle
“We are currently conducting a very intense investigation,” authorities said.
DW’s Rick Fulker tweeted there were “many glum faces” at the scene, while also saying that people were “very calm” during the evacuation.
The three-day festival was expected to welcome up to 90,000 visitors with German hard rock giants Rammstein set to perform later on Friday.
The organizers used loudspeakers to inform the visitors about the possible threat.
“We hope it will continue tomorrow. Please head to the exits,” they announced.