Overview
- A new YouGov/dpa poll finds 62% worried about attacks, yet 59% still plan a visit; 41% deem current precautions sufficient and 37% do not.
- Cities deploy concrete barriers, bollards, police patrols, video surveillance and selective bag checks, alongside a nationwide knife ban introduced in 2024.
- Police and state officials report no concrete plots but describe an abstract high threat level; the police union calls the security situation tense.
- Protection outlays have surged—Bremen earmarked €3 million for barriers and cameras, Magdeburg €250,000 for mobile blocks, Halle about €600,000, with Frankfurt citing six‑figure costs.
- Financial strain is reshaping events, with Overath canceling its market, Tapfheim downsizing, and Berlin’s Potsdamer Weihnachtszauber investing over €250,000, even as some venues open earlier such as Bayreuth’s Winterdorf since October.