Friday Night skating back on track

The Green Party invites Viennese residents to join the regular “Friday Night Skating” during the nights of the summer months.

The participants, including cyclists, will skate out from Heldenplatz from 9 p.m. and go along Ringstrasse, Triesterstrasse or Südosttangente. Affected streets will be closed for car traffic. The police and several “Rolling Guards” will look after the 2,000 participants.

The route is always changing. For the beginning of the 15th season on 10 May, Schönbrunn is on the programme. One week later, “Island hopping” will take place, which will go through Leopoldstadt to Brigittenau on 17 May.

On 7 June, the leader of the Green Party, Eva Glawischnig, will be at Heldenplatz with some barbecues, before the participants skate twice around the ring.

The routes are between 15 and 25 kilometres long. The political activists and sports activists are informed about the planned routes and the weather forecast on the Internet.

In the past years, there have been a total of 250,000 participants. The highest amount was in September 2012 at the “Friday Night Skating” over the Nordbrücke.

This year, there will be a total of 20 trips and the Green Party expect a total of around 30,000 participants.

The FPÖ have criticised the event due to the high costs (15,000 Euros per event for police and closures).