Peaceful protests in Bielefeld: Pyrotechnics use in a vigilance

Peaceful protests in Bielefeld: Pyrotechnics use in a vigilance

On Saturday, May 24th, 2025, the Bielefeld city center was the scene of three meetings, which the police accompanied with reinforced forces. Support also came from emergency services from North Rhine-Westphalia. Except for short traffic impairments for residents and football fans who flocked to public viewing, the protests were mostly peaceful.

The vigil under the motto "Against hatred and agitation in Bielefeld!" started at 11 a.m. at the scene of an attempted homicide. Around a third of the participants followed another meeting around lunchtime, while the rest remained at the original place. The vigil ended around 2:40 p.m. But around 2:20 p.m. there was an incident in Henkelstrasse: a group lit pyrotechnics towards the police officers and the elevator. Emergency services reacted with pepper spray, luckily nobody was injured. Two suspects escaped and the police have already initiated measures to identify.