Overview
- The new session began at 11:11 with large crowds in Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz, as early queues formed at venues and weather stayed mild and dry.
- Cologne deployed more than 1,000 police officers alongside roughly 450 municipal staff and about 1,200 private security workers across key areas.
- Officers enforced a knife ban with targeted searches and penalties up to €10,000, while the city prohibited drones from 06:00 to 02:00 and imposed broad glass restrictions.
- Access was controlled at fixed entry points, with the Kwartier Latäng and Heumarkt entrances temporarily closed once full, the Uniwiese designated as a no‑party zone, and numerous streets blocked to traffic.
- Medical stations, Malteser awareness teams, mobile EDELGARD support and the new Guardy app operated in the center, as police reported no specific threat and maintained enhanced protection for the nearby synagogue.