Love Parade Inquiry Ongoing

A memorial service was held July 24 in the Duisburg soccer stadium where 21 died and more than 500 were injured at last year’s Love Parade, but it seems German authorities are no closer to working out who was responsible.

Duisburg Mayor Adolf Sauerland and Love Parade organiser Rainer Schaller both faced heavy criticism over the circumstances that led to the crowd crush, but in January it was announced that neither would face charges.

Many in the German live music business are puzzled by this, as Duisburg public prosecutor Rolf Haferkamp has said there are indications that the city may not have checked the security plan properly.

He also said it’s not clear if those in charge acted carelessly.

The crush came in a tunnel passageway that led in and out of the Love Parade site, a 23-hecatre former railway depot on the edge of the Ruhr Valley city.

The prosecutor’s office is still investigating 11 employees of the city of Duisburg, four people from Love Parade promoter Lopavent and a police officer.

Although the investigation has so far involved talking to hundreds of witnesses over the course of a year, Haferkamp believes it will still take months to reach a conclusion.