Christopher BarrettThe German federal government has created a €2.5 billion fund to cover the cancellation costs of events planned for the second half of 2021 that are unable to go ahead due to Covid-19.
In an interview with Tagesspiegel, finance minister Olaf Scholz (pictured) said the state would cover the costs for all events that are planned for the second half of 2021 but have to be cancelled due to the pandemic.
Scholz said event expenses “that were made in optimistic expectation and cannot be realised due to coronavirus restrictions” should be covered by the fund.
He said the government is also working on a funding initiative to help support the staging of cultural events that can only take place with a limited capacity, due to Covid-19 restrictions, and are therefore not financially viable.
According to MusikWoche, state secretary Bettina Hagedorn also discussed the fund in a Reeperbahn Festival Focus Session. The trade magazine reported that hybrid concerts are also to be financed.