The Dome on the Hardtberg is increasingly popular The Telekom Dome will host the finale of Beethoven Year

Brüser Berg · Word is spreading about the versatility of the Telekom Dome, not just for sporting events and numerous trade fairs, but also among the organisers of Beethoven’s anniversary year.

 In 2017, the Telekom Dome served as the venue for the Protestants' Reformation Gala.

In 2017, the Telekom Dome served as the venue for the Protestants' Reformation Gala.

Foto: Barbara Frommann

The Telekom Dome on the Hardtberg has had experience with closing events of great festive years since 2017. Then, the Luther Year ended with a large stage programme in the Telekom Baskets' sports hall with the Beethoven Orchestra, wind instruments and 600 singers on stage. In 2020, a similar large event will be staged: Since autumn, it has been decided that the Beethoven anniversary year will have its grand finale there and on the 16 December, Bonn’s General Music Director Dirk Kaftan will present the “Best of BTHVN2020”.

Sven Otternberg, Hans-Günter Roesberg and Michael Mager don’t yet know exactly what will happen on that evening. The hall will be full with 4,500 to 5,000 people, and in addition, a large stage with room for a choir will probably be needed, says Otternberg, who is responsible for marketing and sponsoring the Telekom Dome.

The event is currently in the planning phase. The hall, which opened in 2008 and where the Baskets play and train for their home games, is becoming increasingly popular: “It's just because we have the largest event hall in Bonn,” says Roesberg, who is the technical director of the building. “Sometimes we have to remind the organisers that this is not a multi-purpose hall.” For example, technical equipment that exceeds the load-bearing capacity of the roof construction is involved.

Or when a huge truck is to be driven into the hall so that the Ehrlich Brothers can make it appear on stage during one of their illusions. The magician duo could perform, but the truck could not enter the hall. Other ideas were at the limits of possibility; for example when Mario Barth drove into the hall on a tram. “Anything can happen there that fits into the hall,” said co-partner and event manager Mager.

Otherwise, the technology depends on the events, the number of which has increased in recent years, but remains limited. “There are not many time slots that allow for non-sporting events,” explains Otternberg. After all, the hall is basically designed for basketball games and everything else must come second place. That is why Telekom employee events that last several days and that are sometimes time-consuming to prepare, occur during the break in games during the summer, says Mager.

But people have become a bit more selective. Pop events with a young audience are now rejected due to bad experiences, confirms Roesberg, without going into too much detail. “Events took place that turned the hall inside out.” On the other hand however, other lively events such as the carnival show “Bonn steht Kopp” – which will happen again on 1 February, have caused no problems so far. The Baskets president Wiedlich, says “the hall is like plasticine”, in that it is suitable for surprisingly much, if the hirer is willing to install additional technology.

“At that time, there was not enough money for comprehensive multifunctionality; we built what we could afford,” says Wiedlich. Third-party events are important for the partial refinancing of the Hallen debt payments. “Concerts are less suitable for this purpose because they sometimes lead to greater damage than profits.”

Many events, such as the carnival fair, are recurring events. In 2020, the creative design fair during the first weekend in January, which was previously held in the Godesberg Stadthalle, is a new event. Furthermore, the choir events “Strong Children’s Voices” and “Great! Let’s Sing” will take place in June. The former is a project from the Bonn Music School and the latter will take place throughout Germany. Grandparents will certainly be in the audience for these, but they won’t have to worry even if they are not very mobile, because the Baskets Hall has lifts and they only have to book easily accessible seats on the stands. Seats for the disabled are also available; you just have to find out where they are, says Michael Mager.

(Original text; Stefan Knopp, translation: John Chandler)

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