BONN. Between 10pm on Saturday night and 3am on Sunday morning, Bonn police and the public order services had to make several interventions. At the popular meeting points around the Brassertufer, Hofgarten and Alter Zoll, as well as on the banks of the river Rhine in Beuel, officers officially vetted around 170 persons and had to dispel around 34.

According to police reports, a brawl broke out on Konrad-Adenauer-Platz at 11pm. A 21-year-old man was so badly injured by several men that he was taken to hospital for treatment. In the subsequent searches, police found six suspicious men on the banks of the river Rhine in Beuel. They recorded the personal details of three of them. Investigations are continuing.

Two more men were taken into police custody for other offences, but were released on Saturday, according to police.

(Original text: GA)

BONN. The Bonn Association for the Promotion of Film Culture is again inviting guests to the traditional silent movie festival held in the historic arcaded courtyard (Arkadenhof) of Bonn university. From 6^th to 16^th August, film classics, rarely shown and freshly restored works can be seen in the open air accompanied by live music.

The Association’s main concern is to reach as large an audience as possible despite the reduced space available. “For this reason, all films will be streamed after the open-air projection via the festival's website (www.internationale-stummfilmtage.de) and will be available online for 48 hours afterwards,” explained festival spokeswoman Kristina Wydra. The musical accompaniments will be played and recorded by the artists beforehand or recorded live at the screening. This year the films will be shown every evening from 9pm, with admission from 8pm.

The 36^th International Silent Film Festival - Bonn Summer Cinema opens at 9.30pm on Thursday, 6^th August with the romantic comedy "East and West (Misrech and Majrew)", directed by the American Sidney Goldin. The film was premiered on 17 August 1923 in the "Zentral-Kino" in Leopoldstadt in the USSR. A total of 14 productions from Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Sweden, the USA and the USSR, made between 1909 and 1929, will be shown during the festival. The shortest film is twelve minutes long, and the longest 150 minutes.

Preparations for the silent film festival usually begin in the winter months. In mid-March the organisers were questioning whether it would go ahead at all due to the corona pandemic. Sigrid Limprecht, chairwoman of the Bonn Association for the Promotion of Film Culture, explained that “the university and the city were there from the very beginning and said that we support you and believe that it can happen.” The open-air factor is certainly an advantage. The Association had to present a hygiene concept for the event to the Bonn health authorities. Kristina Wydra, who is responsible for the festival's press relations, explains: “This time there will be no supporting programme in the Brotfabrik like in 2019. Unfortunately, we will also have to do without the table in the grotto, where posters and DVDs are sold in addition to food and drinks”. Visitors are asked to submit forms with their personal data for possible tracing. "You can download the template from our website shortly before the festival starts, fill it in and bring it with you," adds Wydra. “It is compulsory to wear a mask until you are seated, and for a better overview there are colour-coded blocks.” Drinks can be purchased on site, but this year only in bottles, not at an open bar.

(Original text: Ulrike Strauch and Bernhard Hartmann)

BONN. More bad news for this year's Abitur school-leavers, who have already been shaken by the Corona pandemic: The graduation ceremony "The Final", due to take place in the Rheinaue park in Bonn on Friday, July 31^st, has been cancelled. The reason given by the organiser (event agency Event4you) was that far too many people have already showed their interest in the run-up to the event.

The decision was made on Friday in consultation with the city of Bonn. “This is sad news for us as organisers as well as for the school-leavers”, said Roland Blask, the owner of Event4you. It has become clear that even in the Rheinaue park, such an event is not possible in the current climate. Blask explained that “we have tried everything to make it possible for this year's school-leavers to have a special ceremony to mark the end of their schooling”. He expressed his disappointment but asked for understanding for the decision. He said that protection against the corona virus was the highest priority.

The event was due to take place in the cultural garden in the Rheinaue. But the large number of ticket requests had exceeded the capacity to such an extent that a massive crowd was to be expected in the Rheinaue. “We were surprised by the enormous demand”, he said. This would not be responsible in view of the Corona rules, he explained. Blask cited a large number of e-mails as well as the number of tickets already sold as indications that it would impossible to deal with the crowds, even on the access roads.

Blask expressed the hope that there would be a leaving party next year. This year’s Abitur cohort are also invited. All tickets already purchased for the event on July 31^st will be automatically refunded in full.

(Original text: Andreas Dyck)

DRANSDORF. Stadtwerke Bonn Verkehrs-GmbH (SWBV) is temporarily closing the Dransdorf stop on lines 68 and 18 due to construction work from around 7am on Monday, 27 July until around 9am on Monday, 24 August. The paving on the platforms at the stop is to be renewed.

As part of the work, the platforms on each side will be closed for two weeks one after the other. During this time, passengers will not be able to board or leave the train on the respective platform. In the first construction phase, the platform in the direction of Cologne will be closed for two weeks. Passengers with mobility restrictions coming from Bonn can alternatively travel to the disabled accessible stop Alfter/Alanus Hochschule, change platforms there and board the next train back to Dransdorf.

The second construction phase follows on the platform in the direction of Bonn. This platform will be closed for two weeks from 9am on Monday, August 10^th. During this time, passengers with mobility restrictions coming from Cologne can alternatively travel to Robert-Kirchhoff-Straße, which is accessible for pushchairs and wheelchairs. There they can change platforms and travel back in the opposite direction to Dransdorf.

(Original text: mur)

(Translations: Caroline Kusch)