16,000 people demonstrate against Weidel's appearance in the Hamburg town hall

On January 18, 2025, more than 16,000 people protested in Hamburg against Alice Weidel's appearance, the newly elected candidate for chancellor of the AfD. According to Welt took place at the invitation of the Hamburg AfD parliamentary group in the town hall. Despite the expected 2,000 protesters, the numbers were significantly higher, which led to several attempts to break through the barriers around the town hall.

The police were on site with a large -scale use, including with water cannons, to secure the spell area around the town hall. A total of around 1,500 police officers were deployed. The town hall was cordoned off in several rings to protect both the event and the participants. The police spoke of a largely peaceful course, despite the wrangling.

event in the large ballroom

The event in the large ballroom of the town hall had the topic "Shipwreck for the traffic lights: Hamburg and Germany get back on track!". Weidel performed in front of around 1,000 guests, while the counter -demonstrators protest took place a few hundred meters away. Participants who wanted to see Weidel had to go through two security controls, which led to delays.

Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) and other politicians expressed negatively about Weidel's appearance and emphasized the diversity and openness of Hamburg. The "Hamburg Alliance against Right" called for the counter -demonstration, at that time under the motto "All together against the AfD and Alice Weidel".

In the past, there have already been great demonstrations against right -wing extremism in Hamburg, with around 180,000 people walking onto the streets a year ago. How zdf reported in a video that she was looking forward to her appearance in Hamburg AfD parliamentary group of reactions to the event was outraged.