A memorial service will take place on April 17 at the Cologne Catherdral where thousands are expected to attend to honor the victims from the Germanwings tragedy.
The memorial, hosted by the German government and the state of North Rhein-Westphalia, will begin at 11:30a local time. Though the Cathedral will only be open to families of the victims, State guests (including Germany’s Chancellor Merkel, France’s Hollande and Spain’s King Philip) and senior Lufthansa leadership, accommodations have been made to allow thousands more to participate near the Cathedral. Large Screen Monitors have been set up in the vicinity of the Cathedral that can facilitate upwards of 5000 people to watch the memorial taking place inside.
Cologne Cathedral
For Lufthansa employees, the memorial will be broadcast throughout the company via their in-house network and intranet. Additionally, employees in the Frankfurt area can go to the cavernous A380 hangar where thousands of colleagues are expected to gather to watch the memorial’s simulcast. Over a thousand Germanwings employees in Cologne will be able to watch the event from the Gurzenich, a concert hall near the Germanwings headquarters.
Other employees throughout the LH network will have access to simulcasts in employee lounges and other employee ‘common areas’.
Notably and rightfully so, very little media is being admitted to the memorial. Only journalists and photographers with accreditation from the Bishop’s Conference will be allowed inside the Cathedral and only German television station ‘WDR’ will be allowed to broadcast the memorial.
Media is also being restricted at the large LH employee gathering expected at the A380 hangar in FRA. Only Lufthansa’s own photographers will be allowed to be inside during the broadcast of the memorial. This is being done to prevent the exploitation of the somber event and to allow airline employees to grieve privately as an organization.
