Neuss Schützenfest

The Neuss Schützenfest, officially the Neuss' citizens' marksmen's festival (German: Neusser Bürger-Schützenfest), is the Schützenfest of the German city of Neuss. It is held annually on the last weekend in August. With more than 7,500 parading marksmen it is smaller than the Hanover Schützenfest but is regarded as the largest marksmen's festival in the world that is organized by a single association and does not include platoons from other cities. The year 2011 saw the largest number of trooping marksmen to date, with 6951 marksmen taking part in the parade. The marksmen's festival with its royal parade, several processions, royal shooting competition and a great number of accompanying events is a social highlight of the city of Neuss and the surrounding area and attracts up to a million visitors each year. The largest number of visitors to date was recorded in 2007, with 1.5 million people coming to watch the Schützenfest.

While the Schützenfests of the Middle Ages were primarily military in character, cultivation of traditions and social aspects are the main focus of the modern day festivities. For this reason, the marksmen wear uniforms with mock guns, often decorated with flowers sticking out of the barrel.

In 2017 the regiment comprised and estimated 7,860 active, i.e. parading, marksmen and musicians all in all, plus an undetermined number of reserves. It is divided into different corps, each wearing their own distinct dress uniform. The Schützenfest is organized by the Neuss citizens' marksmen's association, of which all marksmen are members. This association is headed by a committee of 10–12 members, among them the Colonel (Oberst), the highest-ranking officer and the commandant of the regiment. Ceremonially the Schützenfest is represented by the King of Marksmen (Schützenkönig), who is determined each year in a traditional shooting competition. Application for the regality is open to all marksmen, however, it involves a lot of expenditure of time and money from both the king and his wife and for his children, optionally. The king is not a member of the association's committee, however.

The marching bands, corps of drums and fanfare bands present come from the Neuss area and beyond, following the old German band pattern, however the Quirinus Band and Bugle Corps, a new band raised in 2011 and based in the vicinity, marches in the British Light infantry band tradition in a record 160 paces per minute (as it is affiliated to the Royal Green Jackets Association in the UK and is the first ever German marching band of its kind, Their Bandmaster Peter Hosking is an Ex Royal Green Jacket and Light Infantry Musician).

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