Pollstar (08/08/22) Gottfried, Gideon

German event industries body Bundesvereinigung Veranstaltungswirtschaft (also known simply as :fwd) warns that Germany may be in danger of backsliding into the habits that made planning and promoting events nearly impossible over the past two years. The new draft of the nation's infection protection act empowers individual states to limit indoor capacities, and to re-impose masks and social distancing, which has severely impeded the promoter's ability to profit from shows. "If event organizers have to reduce capacities at short notice because state governments — even without clear pandemic definitions — determine a tightening [of restrictions], it is not possible to plan seriously," stated fwd: Chairman Christian Eichenberger. "The consequence is maximum uncertainty among clients and guests of events. If the draft is not revised, extensive event cancellations from October onwards will be the inevitable consequence." Eichenberger is also concerned about an "even greater brain drain" than that seen in the last two years, with many event professionals having to find employment elsewhere. Meanwhile, German live events association Forum Veranstaltungswirtschaft has been urging federal and state governments to adopt measures for managing the pandemic in the fall/winter of 2022/2023, noting, "capacity restrictions must be ruled out in the future. This is the only way to prevent mass cancellations of events and another setback for the ailing event industry."

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