Most of the people moved from various assembly points or in groups towards Heldenplatz, where the largest gathering is to take place. It is expected that the majority of the demonstrators will band together at the ring – at 4 p.m. they want to march around the ring. Around 1,200 police officers are on duty.
Because of the numerous march rallies, numerous traffic obstructions are expected. According to the ÖAMTC, temporary closures of Franz-Josefs-Kai and Ring must be expected until 6 p.m.
Already in the morning the vaccination-critical party MFG organized a stand rally on Schwarzenbergplatz, the participants of which partly moved towards Heldenplatz around noon. The main utensils on Heldenplatz and all around were “No to vaccination” banners and Austrian flags, Styrian and Croatian flags were also to be seen – occasionally symbols of the QAnon conspiracy theorists.
There were many families with children among the participants – accordingly numerous banners such as “For love, for children and all people”. Inscriptions such as “We are not serfs and no subjects” or “We think for ourselves” or various modifications of these were also carried in front of them. On the other hand, those with traditional “short must go” posters were not quite up to date – one managed to cross out the “must” and an “is” smeared over it. The whole thing was filled with self-written vaccination-critical rap and rewritten children’s songs.
The counter-program started its rally on Stephansplatz, where around twelve o’clock, however, not too many people wanted to demonstrate against anti-Semitism and fascism. The motto there: “Put on mouth and nose protection. Against Nazis, the state and capital”.
The police had called in advance to avoid large gatherings because of the current corona situation and risk of infection. At Heldenplatz it was announced repeatedly that an FFP2 mask requirement applies to the demo – but the vast majority did not adhere to it.
Source: Nachrichten
