Construction crisis Bonn plans Beethoven 2020 without Beethoven Hall
Bonn · Bonn has officially canceled the Beethoven Hall as a venue for the Beethoven Anniversary in 2020. All events will be held in other locations. Meanwhile, the city council considers demolishing the hall.
Mayor Ashok Sridharan met with those in charge of planning for the Beethoven Anniversary and the Beethoven Fest, as well as with heads of the municipal theater and orchestra, and they decided to not include the Beethoven Hall in any further planning for events surrounding the 2020 jubilee. Time and cost factors make it no longer feasible.
The main venue will be the Opera House (1024 seats) - which will have consequences for its own programming and the revenues of the opera. All "central events" of the jubilee year could take place in the Opera House or in the World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB, 1100 seats), the city said. In addition, they are looking at the auditorium in the university main building (700 seats) as another possible venue.
Meanwhile, some local politicians, including from the SPD are calling for a radical rethinking of the situation and a freeze on the Beethoven Hall renovations while considering a new building. Herman Simon, marketing expert and founder of consulting firm Kucher & Partners, wrote to GA that the refurbishment of the old hall was “a bottomless pit” in terms of costs. The historical protection orders could be lifted so the hall could be demolished and a new one built in its place.
Members of the CDU and the Greens made it clear, however, that they support the renovation of the Beethoven Hall to the full extent as planned. According to the city, contracts of about 50 million euros have been awarded already, of those around 10 million euros have already been implemented. Orig. text: Andreas Baumann Translation: Carol Kloeppel
