"Krone" on site
“Tutto Gas”: Lignano surprised by party rush
Deterrent regulations be damned: contrary to expectations, the first party day of the legendary "Tutto Gas" Whitsun weekend in Lignano was significantly busier than last year. So far "without any major incidents", as the somewhat surprised authorities said during the "Krone" site inspection.
"It took us ages to get here - the Tauernautobahn must have taken us an hour and a half," said a group of young lads to the "Krone" on Friday afternoon at the Drei-Länder-Raststation in Arnoldstein. At this point, it was already clear from the traffic reports alone that the Upper Adriatic was going to be a busy place again this year.
Stricter rules
Even stricter rules (e.g. bikini and topless ban, no music from loudspeakers after 1 a.m. etc.), bad weather forecasts - none of this apparently deterred the party animals from Austria. The security authorities were surprised by the large crowds, as Martin Marco, a police officer who has been sent from Villach to Lignano for years, confirmed to us in the evening.
This year, it was much busier than in previous years. The first bars were already full on Friday morning and a lot of alcohol was flowing.
Polizist Martin Marco
"There's a lot more going on again this year than in previous years. The first bars were already full on Friday morning and a lot of alcohol was flowing. It's unusual that there's already so much going on on Fridays. The arrival peak is normally only on Saturday," says the uniformed officer, who is supporting the Italian security forces on site with a local colleague. Primarily to mediate, de-escalate, interpret and assist compatriots in emergency situations.
50,000 to 70,000 party guests
There is talk of 50,000 to even 70,000 party guests on site, who kicked off the Whitsun weekend on Friday with a lot of noise and alcohol around the hotspot, Piazza Fontana. And they did so until the early hours of the morning. Which not only resulted in mountains of garbage on the streets. The noise pollution caused by young people singing and bawling on their way home regularly causes problems. And naturally, it doesn't go down well with the "normal" guests in the hotels either.
"We have a few young people with us again this year. And normally it works quite well. There are only problems from time to time when they've had too much to drink and come home at night. You have to intervene from time to time. But nothing serious. We were all young once - people should party. But I think it's good that the rules have been tightened up in Lignano," says Aldo, manager of Hotel Ciao.
No alcohol for heavy drinkers
Tiziano Geromin, owner of the Peperoncino & Co restaurant, has a similar view and follows a special tactic on special days: "We are happy to have young guests. We never really have any problems. They can eat with us at any time - but if they are obviously already very drunk, we only serve them anti-alcoholic drinks."
"Good for the economy"
Trendy restaurateur Franz, whose wine bar Di Vino is located in the middle of the party mile's shopping street, is also pleased with the influx of guests. "We generally have more Austrian guests than Italians. But most of the action takes place a few meters away from us anyway. I have no problem with the weekend - it's good for the economy. And Lignano will be able to cope with the three days, especially as it takes place before the main season anyway. I also think it's good that Austrian police are here."
And they will be here until Monday, which means little sleep for Martin Marco and his uniformed colleagues. For the first time this year, a drone is also being used at Tutto Gas. "This gives our Italian colleagues an overview from above, allows them to better assess the flow of people and recognize more quickly where more officers may need to be deployed."
There were no major incidents on Saturday night. Most of them involved allegedly stolen or lost wallets or cell phones. Or, of course, so-called alcoholic corpses that require medical care. There was often a lack of common sense. And of course there were also the odd scuffle. "But nothing wild (yet)" - as the Villach officer explained to us.
Drug abuse in the sights
As in previous years, the police also have drug abuse in their sights. Due to the ongoing investigation, the officer was unable or not allowed to say anything to the "Krone" about the arrest of two suspected drug dealers on the beach promenade. One thing is certain, however: the party in Lignano continued on Saturday.
Loud music was already booming from the balconies in the early hours of the morning. Others were singing and heading back to the public beach and bars with cans of beer in their hands - where they "bridged" the time until the next evening or night party. No sign of a hangover. And with the thousands of other Austrians who fought their way through the many traffic jams heading south on Saturday morning, Lignano and the security forces still have a hot, long weekend ahead of them.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
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