In the carnival strongholds in the west, the first revelers gather on Weiberfastnacht morning. Tourists in disguise arrived at Cologne Central Station and bought traditional carnival snacks such as Mettbrötchen, Berlinern and "Mutzen", a Rhenish fat pastry, in bakeries. Despite the rather bad weather forecast, it was initially dry but cold. The police observed the goings-on with strong forces, but initially everything remained calm.

For the first time in three years, the carnivalists can celebrate again without corona restrictions. In 2020, the carnival took place just before the first far-reaching lockdown measures were taken, but had also contributed to the spread of the virus. In the following year 2021, the carnival was completely canceled. In 2022, Weiberfastnacht took place under 2G-plus conditions. These restrictions are now gone.

Many tens of thousands of revelers from abroad are expected, especially in Cologne. The police is there with 2000 officers in action. Already at the beginning of the carnival season on 11.11. there was a mass rush in Cologne, especially in the student district around Zülpicher Strasse. However, unlike the past few days, the weather on Thursday is not expected to be good.