BONN. The Corona pandemic has certainly left its mark on the tourism sector. Many hotels and guest houses have seen a sharp drop in revenue, particularly as a result of the enforced closures during lockdown. But now the number of overnight stays in Bonn is on the rise, according to the Food and Catering Union (NGG). In the first half of 2022, Bonn recorded around 622,000 overnight stays with guests from Germany and abroad, according to the State Statistics Office. That is a good three times as many as in the same period last year.

But what initially sounds like good news also brings difficulties: the hospitality industry is struggling with a major shortage of skilled workers, the NGG reported. This is primarily due to the working conditions, explains Manja Wiesner, director of the NGG Cologne region. Many of the staff are affected by constant overtime and calls to work at short notice. Wiesner calls for socially acceptable solutions in hotel chains and the foodservice industry in order to make work in the hospitality industry more attractive.

She hopes that, among other things, rising wages will now ensure an increase in staff. Wages in the industry rose this year by 28 per cent in accordance with the current collective agreement for North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to wages, she also advocates improved working conditions for employees.

(Original text: dpa)

BONN. Oxford and Bonn came together not long after the Second World War in 1947. The cities have maintained their close ties ever since. The twinning is currently celebrating its 75^th anniversary with a special festive week. In fluent English, Bonn mayor Ursula Sautter welcomed a delegation of around 200 visitors from Oxford, who are currently staying in Bonn. Together with district mayor Jochen Reeh-Schall, she hosted a reception at the Old Town Hall. The city twinning association will be presenting itself at the Civic Festival in Bonn this weekend.

The Lord Mayor of Oxford, James Fry, who has been in office since May this year, gave a short, entertaining speech at the town hall. He praised the warm welcome given by the Bonn residents and complained light-heartedly that there was too much delicious food. He mentioned the botanical gardens in particular, which also has a long-standing partnership with Oxford.

But it was not all about food and celebrations. At an expert meeting, the political committees had spent a day dealing with changes to traffic policy, for example. A football delegation from Rosehill, with around 50 children and parents, played in a tournament against local team FC Rot-Weiss Lessenich 1951. There was also a programme of events with dancers, musicians, artists and students. Barbara Raupach, who has been in charge of the twinning on behalf of Bonn since 2007, said that during the pandemic there had been almost no contact between the partner cities. Now around 200 delegates had travelled to the 75^th anniversary of the twinning, she said.

The twinning festival week is running until Sunday. Those who are not members but would like to find out more about the guests from the English university town have the opportunity to do so at the Civic Festival. This weekend, the Bonn-Oxford twinning association is running an information stand at Bottlerplatz, with events presented by both Bonn and Oxford on the stage. At 5pm on Saturday, the district mayor Jochen Reeh-Schall and Lord Mayor James Fry opened the PoeTree exihbition at the Kurfürstlichen Gärtnerhaus.

The Bonn Philharmonic Choir is also marking the anniversary by performing two concerts of Charles Villiers Stanford’s Requiem. The singers are appearing on Saturday and Sunday from 6pm in the chapel at the Old Cemetery. The Beethovenhaus Chamber Music Hall is opening its doors for a matinee recital on Sunday at 11 am. The Cathedral Singers of Christ Church will join in the celebration of the Mass from 12 noon in Bonn cathedral.

An exhibition presenting the past 75 years of twinning between Bonn and Oxford opened on 18 August in the foyer of the Stadthaus.

(Original text: rbs)

BONN. The Beethoven Festival kicked off on Friday evening at the Bonn Opera House with a symphony concert performed by the Budapest Festival Orchestra with conductor Iván Fischer in the presence of NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU). The festival is the first to be held under the direction of the new artistic director Steven Walter. According to the festival management, ticket sales have recently surged despite a slow start. The Beethoven Festival is staging around 100 concerts up to the 17 September under the slogan ‘All People’.

On Saturday afternoon “Bühne frei für Beethoven” was staged at eight different locations across the city, with musical performances by hundreds of students. Dvorak, Schubert, Elgar, Handel, Offenbach, Holst, Bartók and Grieg met Mancini, Williams, Europe, Badelt and John Lennon; classical music met rock, pop, jazz and film music - a colourful mixture that went down extremely well with the public.

The majority of the performers came from Bonn’s rich pool of amateurs, in particular the schools and music schools with their many ensembles. Members of the Ukrainian youth orchestra were special guests. They will also play at the Beethovenfest next Monday following rehearsals at the Orchesterzentrum in Dortmund.

(Original texts: Bernhard Hartmann / Thomas Kölsch)

BONN. Energy providers in Bonn and the local area are offering fewer tariffs. Many are not concluding any new contracts at the moment. The only exception in most cases is for Grundversorgung (basic supply) and Ersatzversorgung (substitute supply). According to the providers, the lack of special tariffs is due to the currently high procurement costs. An analysis by the comparison site Verivox shows that the selection of tariffs has gone down dramatically. The number offered by the basic suppliers has halved in the past year.

(Original text: Marie Schneider)

KÖNIGSWINTER. The Klassik-Bühne Rhein-Sieg, a programme of free classical events organised by the Kreissparkassenstiftung, is holding its final concert in the Rotunda on the Petersberg on Sunday, 9 October at 6 p.m. This year the program is based around folk songs. Admission to the concerts is traditionally free, but the Kreissparkassenstiftung asks for a donation which goes to local charities.

(Original text: qm)

(Translations: Caroline Kusch)