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Germany's Rock Am Ring Festival Evacuated Over Suspected Terror Threat

The festival has been temporarily suspended after Koblenz police received "concrete evidence" of a threat at the three-day event outside Nürburg.

German rock festival Rock Am Ring has been evacuated and shut down for the day after police received warning of a suspected terrorist threat. The event at the Nürburgring race track outside Nürburg, Germany was evacuated just before headliner Rammstein was set to take stage so that law enforcement could sweep the area after receiving "concrete evidence" of a threat, according to a translated statement from local police.

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"Due to a terrorist threat the police have advised us to interrupt the festival," said Rock Am Ring owner Live Nation in a translated statement provided to Billboard. "We ask all festival visitors to leave the festival in a calm and controlled manner towards the exits and camping grounds. We have to support the police investigations. All visitors will be kept informed about any developments on all Rock am Ring Social Media channels, radio and the speakers. We hope that the festival will continue tomorrow. Thank you for your cooperation."

The threat comes less than two weeks after a suicide bombing outside of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena killed 22 people and injured more than 100 more. Koblenz Police said that the Manchester attack prompted the department to increase the number of personnel on site this year to 1,200 officers.

"We take all references and all suspicious moments very seriously and follow them intensively," the Koblenz Police Department said. "After a threat could not be ruled out, all necessary measures were taken immediately. This led to the event being interrupted today for security reasons."

It's not clear how many people were in attendance at the time of the evacuation, but around 80-90,000 people were expected by the end of the weekend. Organizers say they hope the event will continue as planned on Saturday. Rock Am Ring's Twitter account announced that a press conference from the region's Ministry of Interior will be held at 11 AM local time tomorrow.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.