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German Ed Sheeran Concert In Düsseldorf Hanging In The Balance
The July 22 concert by
Phil Walter / Getty Images – Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran plays the first of three shows at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, March 24.
104 trees need to be felled to accommodate the production (300 new ones will be planted), and some residents fear noise disturbances, which could prevent the city’s planning committee from granting its approval. The decision will be made on June 13.
Promoter Folkert Koopmans of FKP Scorpio told RP Online that relocating the concert wouldn’t be possible at this point in time, and that it would create losses of at least €5 million ($5.8 million) for his company.
The new D.Live Open Air Park is part of Düsseldorf Congress Center’s venue portfolio, which also includes the ISS Dome, Mitsubishi Electric Halle, the Castello and Esprit Arena, and Koopmans said the premises were ideal, as they offered escape routes on all sides.
He added that FKP Scorpio wouldn’t bring anymore concerts to Düsseldorf, should the city deny the concert.
Koopmans had started planning the concert at D.Live Open Air Park once the city’s municipality and fire department had confirmed that the concert could be staged. The next step was usually to negotiate the details with the city’s decision makers while starting the ticket on sale in parallel. “In more than 20 years we’ve never been denied a permit,” said Koopmans.
The July 22 Ed Sheeran concert has been ill-starred from the start: originally scheduled to take place at the airfield in Essen/Mülheim, the protection of a local bird population forced FKP Scorpio to relocate to Düsseldorf, which is only 20 kilometers away and can be reached via public transport. The 80,000 tickets for the sold-out concert would serve as public transport vouchers should FKP receive the go-ahead on June 13.
Ed Sheeran’s Germany trek comprises five dates, beginning July 19 at Berlin’s
The German dates are part of a European leg that commences with three shows at the
Sheeran just got back from his record-breaking 18-date run through Australia and New Zealand, for which he sold more than one millione tickets. Pollstar spoke with the people involved.