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Since midnight on Thursday you can buy fireworks for New Year’s Eve in Germany. A special focus will be on Berlin on New Year’s Eve. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser fears that this year could be even worse than last year due to the tense situation in the Middle East.

Last year’s riots and the Gaza war are helping Berlin authorities prepare for a demanding New Year’s Eve operation. More than 2,000 police officers have been deployed. You will receive support from Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and the Federal Police. “It will be the largest police operation in recent decades,” Berlin police chief Barbara Slowik told the German news agency.

For this reason, the police and fire brigade in Berlin have issued a joint video warning against the misuse of fireworks and rockets. The title of the videos: For reasons.

Such riots are not new in Berlin. Violent gunfire has been going on in the big city for some time now. In recent years, however, fireworks and rockets have also been thrown and shot at police officers and firefighters. Last year, incidents caused national outrage.

According to the chairman of the police union (GdP), Jochen Kopelke, the policy has failed. He asked the Rheinische Post: “Why has Germany not yet banned the sale of fireworks on New Year’s Eve? And why can’t the police take more consistent action against those involved in the excesses of violence?”

Banned in Cologne, Munich and Frankfurt am Main

Measures have been taken in Cologne: Due to the security situation, Cologne Cathedral remains closed to tourists. Normally there are about 100,000 visitors between Christmas and New Year.

In Munich, fireworks are not allowed in the entire pedestrian area from Marienplatz near the town hall to the Stachus, nor on the Viktualienmarkt.

In Frankfurt am Main, fireworks and pyrotechnics are prohibited on the Eiserner Steg. The main reason is the risk of injuries due to the many people who are on this bridge every New Year’s Eve.

The industry expects record turnover

The pyrotechnic industry expects record turnover. This was already evident at the beginning of December from tens of thousands of pre-orders in online retail by private individuals and the quantities ordered by retailers, the chairman of the Federal Association for Pyrotechnics and Artistic Fireworks (BVPK), Ingo Schubert, explained to the German Tagesschau.

“After two pandemic years without fireworks, there was a huge amount of catching up to be done in 2022,” said the chairman of the Association of the Pyrotechnic Industry, Thomas Schreiber. People are optimistic that the demand for New Year’s Eve fireworks will be high again this time.