Corona-Demo in Berlin – a Protest ended as a Techno-Rave with 3000 FeierndenIn Berlin, grew a Demonstration for the endangered club culture to a large Party that was stopped by the police. The future of the dance scene looks bleak.Dominique Eigenmann from Berlin1 Comment1″For the culture – all in the same boat”: the participants of the Demonstration to the rescue of the club culture on Pentecost Sunday, on Berlin’s Landwehrkanal.Photo: Picture-Alliance / event-press

Blue sky, colourful rubber boats, thumping bass: Up to 3000 young people celebrated on the day of Pentecost on the Landwehr canal in Kreuzberg. What ended up as an illegal Rave Party, had begun four hours earlier, at the Treptow harbour as a legal Demonstration for the Virus-threatened Berlin’s club culture.

In the course of hours, the little boat on the water were more numerous, and as the protest convoy at the urban, port landed, and the large boxes were assembled, and joined to the Shores many Hundreds of other Revelers. Ironically, on the Lawn in front of the only hospital in Kreuzberg to a Party rose, as Berlin since the Shutdown in March is no longer seen. Since the Demo had ceased to be a Demo, noise complaints were received, distances have not been complied with, and hardly anyone wore a face mask, ended the police with the haunting finally.

organizers apologize

the next day, the organizers responded contritely pretty. They apologized for the bad taste, to have, of all things, in front of a hospital, celebrated, and said they had been overwhelmed from the inlet simply. Their Appeals to keep a distance and to protect themselves, had not been heard. The club Commission, which represents the industry in Berlin, knew already that the rally your request done more harm than good is likely to have.

“It is not the time for parties!”, the Berlin health Senator Dilek Kalayci (SPD) scolded on Tuesday. The Clubs had initially contributed greatly to the spread of the Virus. “Berlin has defeated Corona”, it sounded in a mix of irony and horror from social media. An FDP politician etched, when the scene could not demonstrate in a reasonable time, it is certainly too early to open the club again.

The Party from the Landwehr canal is not revealed, however just how careless many of Berlin’s now with the virus risk, but also how much the celebration of lust that has accumulated. And how great is the despair of the party organizer is already All know that your Local will be among the last allowed to open it again.

What would life be without night?

Since the Clubs closed in March, not more beats of Berlin’s wild heart. And some doubt that the city will ever recover from it. Frankfurt has the banks, Munich BMW, Hamburg the port – but what would Berlin be without its night? Berlin is considered the party capital of Europe. Every fourth of a year, 14 million tourists come to celebrate. The almost 300 Clubs generate around 1.5 billion euros in tourist revenue in the year and also an economic factor. Invaluable finally, their value for the free and colorful Image of the city.

The crisis is already older

Still, the club scene is laid in the crisis, just quiet. Will later died. City and Federal support, the organisers currently, with short-time work, loans, credits or aid. Members of the club Commission have joined together: Every night a DJ in an empty Club, the Set will be live – streamed on the TV channel Arte. The Clubs reach hundreds of thousands of followers, collect donations and vouchers. Lutz Leichsenring, spokesman for the club Commission, is, however, no illusions: “The night life in Berlin is experiencing its greatest crisis of the post-war period.”

The Corona-Shutdown hits the Party and dance scene, not only harder, because their Local may need to stay on months, closed but also because these were already deep in crisis. In Berlin have increased in the past decade, the Rent so heavily, that all those operators came under pressure, which are little oriented commercial. Of a “club” is to die for years, the speech. 100 Local have disappeared since 2010, say it. The beginning of the year the terminations for the internationally known Clubs such as the semolina-mill, and the fetish troubled Club on KitKat the city.

the help of the policy?

politicians from the FDP, Greens and the left party is no longer proposed in the German Bundestag, to treat dance clubs in the future, such as “amusement”, but as “cultural sites”. You would then enjoy more building protection and could receive subsidies. The Greens have also proposed Amendments to the commercial tenancy law, the Left of the actual “cultural protection areas”. Even from the Berlin CDU, there is support.

In contrast to the past, Berlin seems to have now at least recognized how important the party scene is for their identity. How many Clubs are after the Corona open it again and continue to be life, but it’s currently completely unclear. As Berlin’s governing mayor Michael Müller (SPD), and hope that the scene will recover quickly again, and his city would once again become a major point of attraction for half of the world, not in any case likely to meet.

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