It was very concerning when a few weeks ago, the first night of Rock AM Ring had to be cut short due to a terror warning. At the time, not much else was revealed, but at the time, 80,000 people had to be evacuated for what German authorities called "concrete evidence."
Turns out it was a bit of a misunderstanding due to a spelling error. IQ Magazine reports:
Johannes Kunz, chief of the Rhineland-Palatinate state police force, says the names of two Syrian nationals working at the festival were misspelt on the list of staff provided to police by promoter Marek Lieberberg Concert Agency (MLK).
At the time, authorities suspected an Islamist terror plot in the state of Hesse, and when the two men’s names could not be found on the list, the decision was made to evacuate the festival.
A suggestion was made by Rhineland-Palatinate’s interior minister, Roger Lewentz, that future festivals provide photo proof of everybody working the festival to avoid such a scare.
The festival happened days after the bombing attack in Manchester which occurred after an Ariana Grande concert, that left 22 dead, so authorities were on extra-high alert.
