Christopher BarrettPan-European ticketing giant and promoter CTS Eventim has announced the cancellation of seven of its festivals including some of Germany’s biggest – Rock Am Ring (cap. 80,000), Rock Im Park (70,000), Hurricane (68,000), Southside (60,000) and Deichbrand Festival (60,000-cap.).
The events are organised by Eventim-owned MLK, ESK Events and FKP Scorpio, which are all part of its Eventim Live European promoter network.
The news is a significant blow in a market valued at €4.99 billion (£5.55bn) annually in the most recent report by BDKV (Bundesverband der Konzert- und Veranstaltungswirtschaft, or Federal Association of Concert and Event Management).
In December, the Germany government announced it would provide a €2.5bn event cancellation insurance fund but the country has fallen behind the UK in administering a Covid-19 vaccination roll-out. At 5 March, the number of vaccine doses administered per 100 people was a quarter of that achieved in the UK.
Eventim said the promoters were compelled to call off the events due to the ongoing uncertainty about infection rates and mutations.
CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg said, “We regret these cancellations very much and share the disappointment of everyone involved. But precedence must, of course, be given to safeguarding and protecting the health of fans, performers, festival teams and partners. However, it is also clear that this continuing uncertainty is further exacerbating the dramatic financial situation in which the live music industry finds itself. We are working on many levels to ensure that live culture can return to the stage as quickly and safely as possible.”