And the costing plan is also being adhered to as things currently stand. The 117 million Euros from the Federal budget will therefore be sufficient.

The seven figure amount contributed by Bonn from its own coffers is relatively low in comparison. And so the press conference raised the question what figure Bonn would be capable of providing for possible repeat events. “We are capable of much, but it must all remain financially viable,” said Lord Mayor, Ashok Sridharan, curbing expectations that the “largest conferences of all time” could now take place more often in Bonn.

However, it is important to realise that Bonn will not need to reinvent the wheel. “The foundations have been laid,” said the Lord Mayor. But now the foundations first need to recover. The tent city in the Rheinaue is to be dismantled by Christmas and the restoration of the land will begin in the spring.

This is necessary among other reasons because a total of 21,919 people found their way onto the conference grounds over the two weeks, said Joachim Hummel from the Ministry press office.

Efficient organisation

Clearly in a good mood, Sridharan looked back over the two weeks. We were able to organise the “mammoth event” so that everything worked well, without restrictions, said the Lord Mayor, and combined his assessment with a thank you to all those involved as well as all Bonners. Citizens were not only flexible but also extremely interested in the events at the conference grounds. The efficient organisation and cooperation of all those involved were, in the end, the deciding factors, said Sridharan, who has no doubt about the city’s improved image. “We delivered a visiting card during the two weeks, that money could not buy.”

Police president, Ursula Brohl-Sowa, also said operations had been thoroughly successful. 1300 officers had been on special duty each day in three shifts, providing general security for the conference, as clear a journey as possible for drivers and also preserving the right to demonstrate. There were 61 demonstrations during the conference in Bonn.

Around 90 per cent bed occupancy rate

Anja Wenmakers, managing director of SWB Bus und Bahn and SWB Mobil, said the city commuter buses had driven 20,000 kilometres during the event and transported 120,000 passengers. Udo Schäfer from T&C gave a figure of around 90 per cent for bed occupancy. “All participants found accommodation,” he said. Schäfer said around 800 guests were given accommodation by 500 private individuals from Bonn.

The services provided by the 400 firemen, rescue services and the Ordnungsamt also ran smoothly with no major operations. 85 cars had to be towed. 329 people, who had applied to help in the run up to the event, were not allowed onto the site because they did not pass police security tests due to previous convictions for violence or theft. A total of almost 10,000 people were checked.

(Original text: Rüdiger Franz; translated by Kate Carey)