by The concert scheduled for Saturday in Kassel by Rammstein singer Till Lindemann will not take place. The reason: the municipality refused the permit because the documents were missing. It could be expensive.
From
Sonja Fourate
Rammstein singer Till Lindemann’s weekend concert in Kassel has been cancelled. Lindemann’s solo performance in the renovated ice rink cannot take place due to an unauthorized construction request for the hall next to the Auestadion. Concert organizer MM Konzerte announced this on Friday. All 6,000 tickets had been sold months ago.
In his statement, the organizer made serious accusations against the city. He applied for approval on October 10 with a “comprehensive facility plan.” The application has only been processed since the beginning of November.
MM Concerti: four-day deadline for new documents
On November 6, they were required to submit additional documents within four days, including those that did not have to be satisfied by the organizer, but rather related to the structural condition of the arena.
Even though MM Konzerte was able to meet the requirements, “the city could not verify the documents before the start of the event, which could have easily been done within 72 hours,” he continues.
City: Building permit required for concerts
The city of Kassel contradicts this statement and, in response to a request from the HR, explains that there is a permit for regular activity at the ice rink, i.e. for sporting events where spectators are in the stands and few people on the field.
However, if the arena being renovated is used for other purposes, a building permit will be required. “This procedure serves in a very practical way to identify and avert dangers, for example through fire regulations or safety concepts,” writes the city.
The relevant legal requirements are also based on experience from past catastrophic events. “If legal requirements are not met in an application, no approval can be granted,” it continues.
“Not all documents were submitted subsequently”
The prerequisite for approval of a concert event is “the existence of a complete application”. This is not the case, there is currently “no application with all the necessary documents for a temporary change of use for the Till Lindemann concert event on November 18, 2023”, the city emphasizes.
As for timing, the city writes that the organizer first contacted the building inspectorate in mid-October and that the written application arrived on October 19. It was processed immediately. “After feedback from all the specialized offices and authorities involved, the documents were requested,” he continues. This did not happen.
Formally the application was considered withdrawn, which is why approval could not be granted. This was also explained to the managers in discussions with, among others, the building inspectorate.
Tickets will be refunded at points of sale
Günther Maienschein, managing director of the MM Konzerte, said at HR’s request that he is now examining the legal steps together with the arena management. In his opinion MM Konzerte met all the requirements, which he could prove. He is not yet able to quantify the economic damage, nor the damage to the image of the Kassel office. Something similar can be felt from the owner of the arena, Paul Sinizin.
In its press release MM Konzerte regrets the situation and asks ticket holders to return their tickets to the respective points of sale where they were purchased. The ticket costs would be reimbursed there.
Rammstein tour overshadowed by accusations
Lindemann will also perform his solo program in Frankfurt on Friday. The performances in several cities had previously been accompanied by counter-protests. In Leipzig, for example, around 600 people gathered.
Lindemann’s band Rammstein’s tour this year was overshadowed by sexual allegations Attacks against the singer. Lindemann rejected it. Prosecutors in Berlin and Lithuania stopped the investigation due to lack of evidence.
