A terrorist threat led to the evacuation of thousands of music fans Friday from the Rock am Ring festival in Germany, police and concert organizers said.
The May 22 bombing of an arena in Manchester, England, during an Ariana Grande concert left 22 people dead and 59 hurt.
Nathalie Muckhoff, 26, who was covering the festival for a local newspaper, told CNN the evacuation proceeded calmly.
“There was no fear or panic, ” she said. “I could oversee the area in front of the main stage and the people left the festival ground very calmly.”
Video posted Friday showed concert-goers peacefully walking off the festival grounds while singing and chanting.
The festival in central Germany runs Friday through Sunday at an auto racing track. Organizers said they hope to continue the shows Saturday.
Rammstein and Liam Gallagher were scheduled to perform Friday, according to a lineup posted on Facebook. Die Toten Hosen was scheduled to play Saturday, System of a Down on Sunday.
“Due to a terrorist threat the police have advised us to interrupt the festival, ” organizers said in a statement. “We ask all festival visitors to leave. We have to support the police investigations. All visitors will be kept informed about any developments on all Rock am Ring social media channels, radio and the speakers.”
