© dpa
On New Year's Eve in Berlin, fireworks and firecrackers are again to be banned in several areas for safety reasons.
According to the current status, three so-called firecracker ban zones are planned. This was announced by the Senate Department for the Interior. As in previous years, the areas in question are Alexanderplatz and the so-called Steinmetzkiez in Schöneberg near Pallasstraße. In addition, fireworks will also be banned on some streets in Alt-Moabit. Further bans are not currently planned.
The reason given for the bans was security. On previous New Year's Eve nights, groups of young men often gathered in certain places, shooting fireworks through the area, igniting firecrackers and attacking police officers and firefighters by throwing bottles.
In 2019, the Senate enacted firecracker ban zones for the first time, setting up barrier fences and posting hundreds of police officers there on New Year's Eve to control access. These bans proved useful in ensuring security in areas where there had been repeated injuries and physical altercations in previous years. "The final decision on the establishment of police pyrotechnics ban zones is expected to be made in December," the Senate said.