Thousands flock to German Carnival parties despite virus concerns

The pandemic didn't hold back thousands of revellers from turning out onto the streets of several German cities on Thursday, as the popular Carnival season kicked off at the usual time of 11:11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month.

In Cologne, where the Carnival launch is celebrated on a particularly grand scale, some of the queues in front of the cordoned-off event zones were hundreds of metres long.

The crowds have prompted some criticism as Germany struggles to stem a fourth wave of coronavirus infections.

The rising case numbers have concerned local authorities, but others are willing to take the risk after last year's Carnival events were cancelled completely.

Singer Peter Brings of the Cologne rock band Brings said many people were hoping for the best.

"We just have to learn to live with it. I think we'll get much sicker if we just shut ourselves away," he said, "but maybe this year we should just snog our partners and wait until next year to snog everyone else."

Unlike in 2020, a large proportion of the population has now been vaccinated - although not enough to achieve herd immunity from the virus.

In the Carnival heartlands of Cologne and Dusseldorf, only vaccinated and recovered people have access to the dedicated open-air event areas.

At the Rathausplatz in central Dusseldorf, the traditional jester Hoppeditz, who appeared at 11:11 am on the dot, gave a speech lashing out at anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists.

"The crowd is big, but manageable," said a spokesman for the city of Cologne.

Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker told dpa that everyone was taking the necessary precautions. "All the restaurateurs, all the organizers and also we as a city have taken numerous measures to make it as safe as possible to celebrate," she said.

She argued that many people had been waiting a long time to be able to hear the Carnival songs live again, and not just on a live stream like last year.

Many international guests have come to the city to celebrate, the mayor added. Among them were descendants of Jewish Cologne residents who had been an integral part of the Carnival during the Weimar Republic, before they had to flee to America to escape the Nazis.

Reker said that their grandchildren were now taking part in Cologne for the first time and were "overwhelmed."

But not everyone was so positive.

Satirist Jan Boehmermann was critical of the crowds in Cologne, many of whom were dressed in costumes. "Today as a 'sexy nurse' on Zuelpicher Strasse, at Christmas as a 'sexy intubated patient' in the university hospital!" the TV presenter wrote on social media shortly after the new Carnival season began.

He was referring to a video published by the Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger, a local newspaper. The footage shows a crowd celebrating in the Zuelpicher district, a popular party area.