Carnival Music in February BonnLive offers 42 concerts in Bonn and Cologne
Bonn · Please dress warmly: For the carnival season, the event company BonnLive is planning 42 concerts in Bonn and Cologne with quite a few bands. The audience will sit in tents that are open at the sides.
The "Karneval" events organised by BonnLive last year did offer at least a little opportunity to indulge in being a „Jeck" within the bounds of what was possible at the time. But one important point was missing: togetherness. Everyone celebrated in their own vehicles, the live music from the stage came from the car radio and could hardly be heard outside. You wouldn't want to have that again. This year's festival will therefore be open-air, so to speak, as BonnLive managing directors Julian Reininger and Katharina Hetkämper announced at an online press conference.
They have planned a total of 42 concerts between 4 and 28 February, an equal number each on the grounds of the former slaughterhouse on Immenburgstraße and in Cologne's Jugendpark. The participating bands - the who's who of carnival music is back again - actually only have BonnLive in their calendars during that time, Reininger said, and often play both venues on the same evening. "The artists can wave to each other again on the motorway." At the kick-off on Friday, 4 February, for example, Cat Ballou, Domstürmer, Miljö and Klüngelköpp will play on both stages, as well as the Bläck Fööss in Bonn and Kasalla in Cologne.
Organisers ensure constant ventilation
Even more exciting than the performing artists, however, is the question of the hygiene concept in times of steadily rising incidences and a Corona variant that is clearly more contagious than the Alpha or Delta variants last year. It was quite easy in the car, you were cut off from the other participants and could easily avoid each other on the way to the toilets or snack stands. Now the concerts are to be held in large tents with wooden floors and no side walls. This ensures constant ventilation. Radiant heaters are supposed to help against the cold. "It's still better to put on a fluffy tiger costume than the cheerleader costume," said Hetkämper. The sound will not come from the front of the stage, but from several small speakers spread throughout the tent.
The concerts are approved for up to 750 people each by the city councils in Bonn and Cologne, who are seated at fixed beer tent groups. Until there, and whenever one stands up, a mask must be worn. The concerts are to be watched sitting down. "But you're still allowed to sway," says Hetkämper. And sing, too. At the entrance, 2G-plus applies, but boostered and recovered people with double vaccination are allowed in without a quick test. Drinks are ordered from waiters, you have to get your own food.
All these regulations apply on a revocation basis. "It's like any event: no one knows what will happen," said Hetkämper. The hygiene concept has been approved, but should concerts still be cancelled, the money will be refunded, the BonnLive managers said.
But one hopes for the best, not only to give the Jecken a bit of carnival. They also hope that as few cancellations as possible will occur for the artists and the people who make a living from hosting such an event. Advance ticket sales begin this Wednesday at 11.11 am. Tickets are available at www.bonnticket.de, among other places.
(Original text: Stefan Knopp; Translation: Mareike Graepel)
