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Roland Kaiser on stage (archive picture): »The anticipation is indescribable«
Photo: Soeren Stache / dpa-Zentralbild
Jens Michow, the President of the Federal Association of the Concert and Event Industry, recently spoke out in favor of a nationwide 2G regulation - that is, that only those who have been proven to be vaccinated and those who have recovered would be admitted to concerts.
Because with capacity restrictions and distance rules, which are officially required under 3G conditions, events made no economic sense.
"Tours will only be possible again when there is no patchwork of different regulations in Germany," Michow told the German Press Agency, "but the countries finally agree on a uniform opening scenario."
What a patchwork quilt looks like is illustrated by a website that the Hamburg-based concert organizer Semmel Concerts has put online: The "Roland Kaiser Infoportal" shows the local conditions under which the individual concerts on the pop singer's tour are to take place.
Ticket buyers are requested to visit the site regularly »due to the constant adjustments to the country-specific Corona regulations« - »especially on the respective show day«.
Roland Kaiser's first indoor tour in a year and a half is to begin in Riesa on Friday evening. It only became clear at short notice that the concert could take place there, because people were vaccinated against the corona virus in the Sachsenarena there on Sunday evening. Then the county vaccination center closed after eight months. The renovation was carried out within two days so that the hall is ready for events again.
Some who had stayed away from the vaccination center in the Sachsenarena expected an important message when they looked at the Roland Kaiser information portal. The concert, which was originally planned under 3G conditions, can only be attended if the proof of vaccination, recovery or negative PCR test is presented, because the corona incidence value in the Meißen district has risen to over 35, according to an official order. PCR tests are significantly more expensive than the antigen tests sufficient for 3G events - more expensive than the tickets.
The editors of the »Sächsische Zeitung« heard the indignation of some Kaiser fans.
In its Thursday edition, the local newspaper quoted a 34-year-old who had been looking forward to the concert for months.
But the family decided against a vaccination and did not want to pay the high price for a PCR test: "We are excluded here, and in the worst possible way."
"Far be it from us to exclude anyone"
The organizer Semmel Concerts emphasized that the approval for the concert with 5000 tickets sold was only received on Tuesday - but under the condition of the 2-G rule or a PCR test. The 3G regulations could only have been maintained if the concert had been divided into two shows with a maximum of 3,000 visitors each. But the tour plan would not allow that. If you do not want to attend the concert under these conditions, you can exchange your ticket for a voucher.
In general, the organizer asked all fans for understanding.
"We are far from excluding anyone from one of our upcoming concerts," says a statement that Semmel Concerts spread via social networks.
Out of consideration for those involved in the tour, it was decided to hold some events under the condition of the 2G rule - "before we have to relocate them again and again and thus endanger the jobs and livelihoods of an entire industry."
According to the information portal, according to the current status, this affects the appearance in Hamburg and "probably" the one in Erfurt.
In Frankfurt am Main, on the other hand, visitor data acquisition is not even necessary with the 3G regulation.
However, as we know it in pandemic times, all of this can change again at very short notice.
feb / dpa
