After the game is before the game. After Rammstein completed their two guest performances in the Hungarian capital Budapest without any particular incident, the stage technicians are already scurrying around in western Berlin.
Here in Charlottenburg is the pompous Olympic Stadium, which is known to be the venue for the fiery shows in their hometown – with over 60,000 fans each time.
In the run-up to the triple spectacle that begins on Saturday (July 15, 16 and 18), the new Senator for Culture, Joe Chialo, once again appeared in front of the press. In the local media, he makes it clear that politicians have no way of prohibiting the elaborately produced major event.
He simply couldn’t ban the concerts that easily: “The demand is emotionally understandable, legally there is no leverage,” says Chialo.
Unlike the previous European venues, an organized demonstration against Rammstein is planned in Berlin. As can be seen from the posters hanging out in the city, the first show this Saturday will be accompanied by protests.
The meeting point is Theodor-Heuss-Platz, which is located at the headquarters of the RBB broadcaster. At around 2:30 p.m., the anti-Rammstein entourage should move towards the stadium. Equipped with a sound system, it takes about 90 minutes to arrive at the Olympic car park in front of it. Then the stadium gates are already open for the Rammstein fans.
Fun question on the side: what kind of sounds will the protest march use to protest?
According to his own statements, Senator for Culture Chialo will not visit the Rammstein shows. Well versed in diplomacy, he refers to the recent budget negotiations in the Berlin Senate, where he had to fend off hefty austerity plans in the cultural sector. This would have cost time and energy. “The weekend therefore belongs to the family,” said the German Press Agency (dpa).
In previous statements, Chialo had warned against hasty demands. He is cautious “always deriving instructions for action from this spin.”
The Berlin Greens have meanwhile designed “awareness structures”. These are to be withdrawn from live concerts in the future. They see politics as having a duty to make security concepts mandatory. How to translate “awareness” in practice, how exactly these “structures” should look like and for which genres and halls they should apply, the Greens leave it vague.
Is punk and metal rather “dangerous”? And with K-Pop and classical music, on the other hand, the “Awareness” task force isn’t used?
In any case, the organizers see further costs to come. Possibly even for music concerts that ripple along gently and folky.