Overview
- Berlin’s traditional free New Year’s Eve party at the Brandenburg Gate will go ahead with DJs and fireworks as planned.
- Police have registered a separate assembly at the Großer Stern organized by the initiative We are Berlin for up to 5,000 people with permitted hours from 10:00 on New Year’s Eve until 05:00 on New Year’s Day.
- We are Berlin says the Großer Stern program will mix electronic-music collectives, a pop stage and a fashion show, which blurs the boundary between a political demonstration and an entertainment event.
- Last year the organizers sought the Brandenburg Gate but the city and police allocated that site to the state-backed celebration, making the current dual-site arrangement a continuation of that dispute over location and control.
- Reporters cite police statements and local outlets including Tagesspiegel and Berliner Morgenpost (via dpa), and city authorities will need to coordinate permits, security staffing and crowd flow to reduce risks from two simultaneous central gatherings.