Swedish authorities dumped a ton of chicken manure in a park to deter thousands of people from gathering to celebrate Walpurgis Night amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The festivities were scheduled to take place Thursday at Stadsparken in the university town of Lund but, as social gatherings of more than 50 people are prohibited, the city government was not taking any chances.
"To sit in a park that stinks of chicken manure...is not a pleasant experience," Lund Mayor Philip Sandberg said, according to The Telegraph. "However, it is good for the lawns, as chicken manure contains a lot of phosphorus and nitrogen, so that we will get a really nice city park for the summer season."
Gustav Lundblad, head of the city's environment committee, said all measures had to be taken to ensure the gathering did not proceed as planned.
"It's the biggest spontaneous party in Sweden, 30,000 people usually come more or less, and of course that would have been a disaster this year," he said. "If there are thousands of people climbing over the fence, it's very hard to stop it even if they don't have the right to do it. It's a deadly virus and the municipality has to do everything it can to prevent that happening."
The plot does not come without consequences, though. Lars Brobeck, the park's superintendent, said it is likely that the smell of chicken manure could waft into the town.
"I'm no expert on manure. But as far as I understand it will obviously smell a little outside the park as well," he said. "The idea is to keep people away from Stadsparken. But I can't guarantee that the rest of the city will be entirely odor-free."
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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