key aspects of the lower court's judgment, including ruling that evidence from Keith Still was admissible. The trial started on 8 December 2017 in Düsseldorf. After many years of investigations and 183 main trial days, the criminal proceedings were discontinued in May 2020. The court found the area was not suitable for the Love Parade 2010 anyway; none of the ten defendants were sentenced. Culpability None of the involved organizations or officials took the blame for the disaster by 29 July. Instead, the involved parties issued several statements accusing each other in a circular manner: On 26 July, Rainer Schaller, organiser of the festival, accused the police of mistakes in crowd control, which he claims led to the disaster. On 28 July, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia rejected this and assigned all the blame to Schaller, his company Lopavent, their security concept and the festival personnel. On 14 August, it became known that Duisburg mayor admitted to deceiving the public about the expected number of visitors at the event. The "several million people" he had been referring to prior to the parade were only "pushed numbers" for media attention in accordance with the organiser of the event. The organiser and the administration had also claimed 1.4 million visitors on the day the disaster occurred but it turned out that the festival area proper (excluding the ramp, tunnel, underpasses, and crowded streets outside the access points), which had been approved for 250,000, was apparently not filled at the time. Due to threats on his life, Sauerland was under police protection at that time. Reactions German Chancellor Angela Merkel quickly issued a statement that she was "aghast and saddened by the sorrow and the pain". German President Christian Wulff also expressed his condolences for the victims of the tragedy that had "caused death, sorrow and pain amidst a peaceful festival of cheerful young people from many countries. ... My thoughts are with the victims of the tragedy and with all their family and friends". On 29 July, several hundred people rallied at Duisburg's city hall, demanding the resignation of the mayor, Adolf Sauerland, depicting him at the gallows. The protesters claimed that Sauerland had been aware of sub-standard security provisions for the festival, but pushed his administration to approve the plans nonetheless. Sauerland, however, rejected the claims and repeatedly said he would not resign. According to local trade union ver.di, members