Love Parade memorial
June 27, 2011
Nearly a year after the Duisburg Love Parade tragedy in which 21 people died, a memorial to its victims was inaugurated on Sunday.
The steel sculpture, weighing more than 10 metric tons, marks the events of July 24, 2010.
Those who died were fatally crushed after panic broke out among festival-goers who had been trying to enter the festival site through a tunnel.
The disaster, in which more than 500 people were injured, prompted a wave of anger against authorities who allowed the event to go ahead at the site.
The memorial, situated close to the site of the tragedy, displays the date of the disaster with names of the dead engraved into a glass panel.
Josef Krings, the former mayor of Duisburg, held the inaugural speech in front of a crowd of about 300 people.
A public fundraising campaign collected more than 26,000 euros ($36,740) for the sculpture, which was designed by the artist Gerhard Losemann.
An official memorial service for the victims is to be held on the anniversary of the disaster next month. Hannelore Kraft, state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, is expected to attend.
Prosecutors announced in January this year that they were investigating 16 officials, within both the city hall and police force, in connection with the disaster.
Author: Richard Connor: (dpa, dapd, epd)
Editor: Martin Kuebler