Rising security costs to protect carnival parades from possible attacks are overstretching many carnival clubs, according to their national association. Without additional government support, many clubs risk reaching their financial and organizational limits, the president of the Bund Deutscher Karneval (BDK), Klaus-Ludwig Fess, told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, according to a report published Sunday. This applies in particular to smaller, village-based clubs.
Fess said that these clubs are seeing a decline in income from sponsors and donations, while membership fees are often not enough to cover the cost of security plans. According to him, these costs have risen in recent years. The BDK president therefore argued that security measures, such as securing side streets during parades, should be paid for by the state. If federal states fail to provide funding, municipalities attempt to pass the expenses on to event organizers.
In the coming days, this year’s carnival season reaches its peak with the street festivities: it begins on Thursday with Women’s Carnival Day, followed next Monday by the traditional Rose Monday parades. Carnival strongholds such as Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Mainz are preparing with large deployments of security and police. Parades, however, also take place in many smaller communities.
Fess also warned of increasing political pressure and hostility toward carnival artists. He appealed to all creatives “not to be intimidated by despots or terrorists.” They should use “the freedom of satire with measure and purpose.” Carnival has always been “a mirror of social issues,” he said, and is ultimately about freedom of expression. “If fear destroys our customs, we lose more than just carnival,” he added.
Most recently, Russia launched criminal proceedings in absentia against Düsseldorf carnival artist Jacques Tilly. Tilly is the chief float builder of the Düsseldorf Rose Monday parade and has for years targeted Russian President Wladimir Putin and his aggressive policies. The matter is “laughable really,” Fess emphasized.
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