Cologne teddy show moved to Sunday for bombing!

Cologne teddy show moved to Sunday for bombing!

Köln, Deutschland - in Cologne there is an exceptional state of emergency on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. The reason for this is three American World War II bombs that were discovered during construction work in the Deutz district. This has been the largest evacuation campaign in the city since 1945, which forces around 20,000 people to leave their apartments and to comply with the radius of 1,000 meters. The effects are noticeable: large parts of the city center are blocked, including important traffic axes and even social institutions.

At 8 a.m. the first security measures began: the bell bends have been set up, and the security service monitored all streets in the evacuation area from 1:30 p.m. The Hohenzollernbrücke was closed to train traffic, which resulted in significant restrictions on Deutsche Bahn. During the defusing, trains had to be redirected and some connections at home and abroad failed. Affected lines of Cologne Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) were also unable to run in the inner city area. KVB recommended that the citizens avoid this area on Wednesday, since there were no buses and trains during the evacuation.

teddy show moved to the new appointment

Definition also has a direct impact on numerous leisure activities. The first teddy show in the Lanxess Arena had to be postponed to Sunday, June 8, 2025. The new appointment was set in coordination with the artist team and the arena administration. Admission for the recorded show begins at 5:30 p.m., the performance itself starts at 7:00 p.m. Visitors who are prevented from the new appointment can return their tickets at the ticket agency.

But not just the teddy show is affected. On the same day, 15 couples also planned to marry in the historic town hall, which was not possible due to the security situation. The wedding ceremonies were quickly moved to the Porz district. The city has also set up two contact points for evacuated, in the exhibition hall 10.1 right bank of the Rhine and in the Humboldtstrasse vocational college on the left Rhine. There are seating, drinks and sanitary facilities available. However, pets are not allowed.

information and help for those affected

The city of Cologne continuously informs the population about the status of evacuation and further course of its website and social media. For questions regarding the bomb find, the population was able to receive helpful information on a citizen phone. Psychosocial care is also secured for those affected to alleviate the challenges of this exceptional situation.

The defusing of the bombs should be completed during the day, even if the exact time remains unclear. The city has taken a variety of measures to ensure the safety of citizens and to return to normal as soon as possible.

These events illustrate how the shadows of the past can still lie above us. Despite the difficult situation, everything is done to ensure the security of the Cologne residents and to restore the usual processes as soon as possible.

Köln0221 reports that the teddy show will be rescheduled on June 8 and how the security measures of the city work. WDR has put together all backgrounds for evacuation and the measures. DW follows the current status of the bombing in the city.