Live TV show to choose Germany's top model disrupted by bomb threat
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Mannheim, Germany (dpa) - A bomb threat disrupted the live broadcast Thursday of a contest to choose Germany's next top fashion model and forced the evacuation of an audience of about 10,000 people.
A suspicious suitcase was found at the venue where the show was held, but police said after inspecting it that no explosives were found.
The threat was phoned in at 9:07 pm (1907 GMT) just after the broadcast began.
The female caller told the broadcaster, ProSieben, that a bomb was set to go off in SAP Arena in Mannheim, police spokesman Dieter Klumpp said.
The suitcase was found shortly afterward in a cloakroom.
The sponsors of the live broadcast ended the show a few minutes later after consulting with police.
A spokesman for the arena announced that the show could not go on "because of technical problems." Acanine team was brought in to search the arena and nearby buildings, but they found nothing suspicious.
Some of the people who were evacuated expressed displeasure that they were told to get out 20 minutes after the threat was phoned in.
They suspected that prominent people were told sooner than they were.
The show was the final broadcast of Germany's Next Top Model, a franchise created by German supermodel Heidi Klum.
Four young women between the ages of 17 and 19 were the remaining contestants and one was to be chosen Germany's next top model during the show.
