After the terrorist attack

Carnival parade: A decision has been made

There will be no parade at the Villach carnival this year.(Bild: Clara Steiner)

The terrorist attack has hit Villach hard. For days, there have been heated discussions around Draustadt about the possible cancellation of the carnival parade - and this in the anniversary year, the Villach carnival has been celebrated for 70 years. The guild and crisis management team have now come to a decision - and the ORF is also affected.

Following the Munich terrorist attack on February 13, the city of Munich has canceled all carnival events. An employee of the city administration and her young daughter were killed in the attack.

In Villach, the heads of the carnival guild and all those responsible have been spinning for days. The question is: Can and should a fun carnival parade take place - exactly two weeks to the day after a terrorist attack? "Mr. Ferrari" Heribert Kaspar has already canceled his participation in the celebrity sessions.

Villach carnival parade will not take place
On Wednesday, the guild informed the security staff of the city of Villach - consisting of city politicians, emergency organizations and heads of authorities - of its decision. It was jointly decided that the parade will not take place this year. This hits the carnival stronghold of Villach particularly hard in this anniversary year - carnival has been celebrated here for 70 years.

The decision to carry out the TV recordings in a much shorter form on Thursday, Friday and Saturday was met with heavy criticism on social media. We are now responding to this too: There will be no more Villach carnival sessions this year - neither live on site, nor as a TV broadcast on ORF.

The parade is one of the highlights of the year and always attracts around 20,000 visitors from home and abroad. Of course, this event brings with it a big party with music and costumes, but the route would also be particularly explosive this year: if it had not been relocated, it would have led directly past the crime scenes.

"However, people should not be deprived of any opportunity to meet up with friends and try to regain a bit of normality despite the tragic events," says Villach Mayor Albel. The celebrations around the city center restaurant can therefore take place as usual. The security of the memorial site near the main square will be ensured, it is said. However, the city is appealing to those who wish to celebrate the carnival to respect the dignity of the square.

Attacker remanded in custody
During the course of Wednesday, the 23-year-old assassin from Villach underwent compulsory interrogation - as a result of which the court finally reached a decision. With an unsurprising result: the crazy knife attacker, who stabbed a teenager to death last Saturday, seriously injured five other victims and plunged Villach into mourning, will be remanded in custody.