The last tents will not be dismantled yet. “If it stays dry, we will be able to clear away the rest of them this week,” said Weis. They could not even think about doing so in the last few days. The heavy rain during the event on Thursday and the numerous runners have made the ground too soft. Even specially laid out tracks for the forklift trucks and tractors did not help. They simply sank into the mud.

“The problem with this parkland is that it’s not meant for these sorts of events,” explained Dirk Dötsch, who has already experienced many events in the Rheinaue. The subsoil of the Blumenwiese is specially compressed and has drainage tubes that allow excess water to flow away. There are special areas that have been strengthened for refrigerated trucks and heavy equipment. “There is none of this on the destroyed parkland,” he explains.

The Firmenlauf moved because of the World Climate Conference. “We either had to cancel or change the parkland,” said Weis. It was decided to move it as the event had already been announced and preparations made.

The city administration said the Federal Government would therefore pay for the resulting damage. “Negotiations as to when the area will be restored are ongoing,” said Marc Hoffmann from the Press Office. He said it was still open whether the parkland would be restored in the coming days or first at the end of December, when the tents from the World Climate Conference are also to be taken down.

(Original text: Nicolas Ottersbach. Translated by Kate Carey)