Midsummer Night at Stonehenge
The celebration of the summer solstice is one of the oldest traditions in the world. For Midsummer thousands visitors are expected Stonehenge in southern England. The police want to proceed with a zero-tolerance policy against debauchery.
Tens of thousands want the ancient festival of the summer solstice celebrations at the weekend in the South of England place of worship Stonehenge: the longest day of the year and also first day of summer. The ancient pagan festival on the summer solstice is still celebrated in numerous cultures. The solstice is the moment at which the sun every day another piece appears lower on the horizon, and this year falls on early Sunday morning. Especially in Scandinavian countries the summer is welcomed with lights and bonfires – because the further north, the shorter is the night of the longest day of the year.
Accordingly, the Midsummer celebrations at Stonehenge will last until dawn. Because the weather forecasts are good and the solstice falls on a weekend, more than 30,000 people are expected. Now make the English police and the conservation organization English Heritage ready for the record-breaking number of visitors in the prehistoric stone circle.
British newspapers report a large-scale police operation with unmanned surveillance drones, drug dogs and horses, which starts at Stonehenge this Saturday.
The local police Wiltshire had announced its intention to prevent “anti-social behavior” from the outset. The police presence at the event is based on operations as they would be held in major cities around on Saturday night. Announced a “zero tolerance” approach-the use of line especially for drunkenness and drugs.
The Stonehenge site manager of English Heritage had previously published a guide to etiquette rules to make unnecessary police intervention. Thus, the amount of alcohol per person on four half-liter cans of beer or a bottle of wine or cider is limited. And illegal drugs are like everywhere else illegal at Stonehenge.
Private parties or unannounced dance events in the area are also undesirable, as was to be found in the Guide and also alerts the police. Some “peace-loving druids” told the British newspaper The Guardian that they wanted to stay away for fear of escalating the festivities.