It is impossible to arm yourself against every single person who has evil intentions, says Yvo Gustelings, co-organizer of the Maastricht Christmas market, Magic Maastricht Vrijthof. He is talking about the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany last Friday, in which a motorist drove into the crowds. At least five people were killed and more than two hundred people were injured. The market was cordoned off with concrete blocks, but the man used a passageway that had been left open for emergency services.
Yes, you can also cordon off such a passage with a concrete block, says Gustelings. “But then you run more risk if, for example, a fire breaks out on the market. That makes it more difficult for the emergency services to reach.”
You make different choices for each location
Eliminating all risks is not possible, say Dutch cherry market organizers. But they try to eliminate as many as possible. This starts with submitting a safety plan when applying for a permit for their market. This is mandatory for major events in the Netherlands. The plan must be approved by the municipality.
“You make different choices for each location,” says Gustelings. “For example, here around the Vrijthof we have a lot of trees, so we don’t have any concrete blocks. Moreover, it is virtually impossible to drive onto the terrain at high speed, as happened in Magdeburg, because you cannot speed up anywhere here.”
‘Invisible measures’
None of the Christmas market organizers want to reveal all the safety measures taken, for, yes, safety reasons. They don’t want to give people ideas. They all speak of “visible and invisible measures.”
Since the end of last year, the municipalities of Maastricht and Valkenburg have imposed stricter security requirements, because the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) increased the threat level of the Netherlands from 3 (significant) to 4 (substantial). The Municipality of The Hague has done this before due to the situation in Gaza and Israel. This also has consequences for the Christmas markets. “Since then, we have been operating at the highest level in terms of safety,” says Ankie Maessen, director of the Municipal Cave in Valkenburg, where part of the Christmas market, called Kerststad Valkenburg, takes place.
There is no concrete reason for a terrorist threat at the Christmas market, says the Brussels police, but security has been scaled up
A Christmas market in a cave requires different measures than an above-ground Christmas market. For example, a bag check takes place before visitors enter the cave. That does not happen in Maastricht, but there is a lot of camera surveillance and many security guards walking around.
The other major Dutch Christmas market is held every year on the Lange Voorhout in The Hague, Royal Christmas Fair The Hague. The market is completely “fenced off”, says organizer Peter Boelhouwer. And there are concrete blocks in a number of strategic places. There are also entrance gates. There is no bag check there, but it does create an extra “barrier”, according to Boelhouwer. And there too, like at the other Christmas markets, there are security guards walking around who “scan carefully”.
Boelhouwer points out that German Christmas markets are many times larger than Dutch ones. His attracts about six hundred thousand visitors, just like those in Maastricht and Valkenburg. The large German Christmas markets attract millions of visitors. Those in Magdeburg about two million.
Brussels
The Christmas market in Brussels, called Winter Wonders, is comparable in size to the German markets. The five-week spectacle attracted four million visitors last year and has been on travel lists for years in the ‘best Christmas market’ category. There is no concrete reason for a terrorist threat at the Christmas market, says a spokesperson for the Brussels police, but security has been scaled up after the attack in Magdeburg.
“After the attack in Germany, we re-examined the situation and made some minor interventions,” the spokesperson said. He points to “additional road closures in the form of vehicles that were placed somewhere” and by additional installation of metal flower boxes. “The type that has a tree in it, you don’t just drive it over.”
The fact that the Dutch Christmas markets are a lot smaller does not mean that the organizers shrugged their shoulders at the news from Magdeburg. “Last Saturday morning we had contact with the police and the municipality to ensure that we have not forgotten anything,” says Boelhouwer. They also put their heads together in Maastricht, says Yvo Gustelings. “We have deployed some extra security guards and everyone is even a bit sharper.”
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