Overview
- The ten-day Hessentag began on Friday with a rain-tinged opening ceremony attended by Ministerpräsident Boris Rhein and Fulda’s mayor and the Domplatz hosted a sold-out musical gala that evening.
- Organizers say the program includes about 1,200 free events and ten headline concerts on the Domplatz featuring acts such as Roland Kaiser, Clueso, Peter Maffay and Sarah Connor.
- Police have mobilized forces in the three-digit range, deployed drones for aerial oversight, held equipment for drone countermeasures and warned that knives, other weapons, drones, drone controllers and cannabis are banned and may be checked.
- Regional transport authorities increased rail and bus services, set up five large event parking sites with shuttle buses and extended city-bus hours to help move visitors along the nearly three-kilometre Hessentagsstraße.
- The festival marks Hesse’s 80th anniversary and a rescheduled Fulda hosting from 2021; officials report good visitor mood, only minor peaceful protests so far and are monitoring how crowd size will affect local commerce and city logistics over the weekend.