Monday, February 22, 2021
Major events despite Corona
"We can prove that it works"
The first children are currently returning to schools and daycare centers, and hairdressers will be able to work again next week. But an alliance of cultural institutions, event venues and sports associations wants much more: With scientific support, it has presented a concept for large corona-compliant events with thousands of guests. Uwe Frommelt, COO of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which operates the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin and the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, among other things, explains in an ntv.de interview why such events are important – even if they don't have any under Corona conditions Throw in profit.
The event industry, cultural institutions and sports associations have presented a comprehensive concept with which mass events should also be possible under pandemic conditions – at great expense and with an audience capacity utilization of 25 to 35 percent. Is it even worth it? Wouldn't it be more economical to close the venues and cut fixed costs as much as possible?
The concept now presented is intended to show the urgent need for a return to work for the entire industry. It finally gives us a perspective. It also represents a significant improvement over the time between the first and second lockdown, when the federal states had different rigid upper limits for all events, regardless of whether they were stadiums, clubs or concert halls. According to the new concept, however, the possible number of visitors is also based on the size of the venue and can also be increased through additional measures such as ventilation. In the long term, it is certainly not economical for anyone to work with a capacity utilization of 25 percent. But of course we hope that we can increase this step by step as the population is vaccinated and we hopefully keep the pandemic under control.
Who will bear the loss of income or the additional costs? Artist, organizer?
I'm sure there will be uncomplicated, flexible solutions in the industry. One thing is clear: everyone from the event venues to the organizers, artists to caterers, everyone absolutely wants to go back to work. The whole industry urgently needs a perspective on how and according to which rules things can continue.
Does that mean that everyone involved must first prepare for losses?
Yes, there will have to be financial compromises in the beginning. How many people are affected by you, how many could you get back out of unemployment or short-time work with the opening concept? At an event in the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, up to 500 people work in one evening. Many of them, cleaning staff, roadies, technicians for example, hardly notice our guests. How many we need now when we re-enter depends, of course, on the size and type of the event. With everyone we bring back from short-time work, we are also relieving the state in this crisis.
Are there any differences between different types of large-scale events, between pop concerts, football or ice hockey games, when it comes to the desired opening?
First of all, it's just about something happening with viewers again. We can and want to prove that it works. We do not primarily calculate which events are financially more or less worthwhile. The concert business will initially concentrate on German artists. International tours will probably no longer take place this year due to the different travel restrictions and quarantine rules in many countries.
Max Borowski spoke to Uwe Frommhold
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