Düsseldorf: the decision to hold a major concert could only be made four days in advance

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Sarah Connor is supposed to appear at the concert

Whether the controversial major concert may take place in Düsseldorf should be decided by August 31 at the latest - and thus possibly four days before the actual date. The city of Düsseldorf and the state government agreed on this compromise. The current corona infection process should then be decisive.

The specific parameters were initially not known. This also left open the likelihood that the concert with Bryan Adams, Sarah Connor and other artists will take place - or will be canceled.

The 150-minute concert with up to 13,000 spectators is scheduled for September 4th in the Merkur Spiel-Arena football stadium. It should be partly "unplugged", without electric guitars and the like. In addition to rock star Bryan Adams, German pop singer Sarah Connor and the Berlin band The Boss Hoss, the singers Rea Garvey, Joris and comedian Michael Mittermaier will also perform.

Criticism from politics

The North Rhine-Westphalian state government had only officially learned of the plans already approved by the city last Friday when the organizer made the concert public by press release. Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) immediately reported legal doubts. In addition, the government was seriously upset. "The fact that a local health department single-handedly approved an event of this magnitude in this situation irritated me as health minister for a long time," Laumann explained. The North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Armin Laschet also considers the planned event "not a good signal," he said on Tuesday. 

Organizer Marek Lieberberg ("Rock am Ring") christened the concert "Give Live A Chance". "We're opening the door for the renaissance of live music, which with this concert we are finally giving it the chance it deserves to restart," he said. Sarah Connor and Rea Garvey had drawn attention to the desperate economic situation of employees in the concert industry on Facebook.

In the stadium itself there should be seats in the stands and in the interior. Groups can book up to four contiguous places - there is a minimum distance to the next. The food stalls are closed to prevent queues. Drinks or snacks are served by "runners" at the seats. The city health department approved the concept as the competent authority.

evh / dpa