Features
German Ed Sheeran Concert Forced To Move Cities: Manager & Promoter Astonished And Disappointed
The municipality of Düsseldorf, Germany, refused permission to stage Ed Sheeran‘s July 22 concert at the city’s D.Live Open Air Park. Promoter FKP Scorpio has managed to secure two dates at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, July 22-23.
Owen Sweeney – Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran plays the first of two sold-out shows at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia July 11, 2017.
In a joint statement, FKP Scorpio and Ed Sheeran’s management said they received the July 27 decision by Düsseldorf Municipality with “astonishment and infinite disappointment.”
They added that they “profoundly regret” how the concert had been instrumentalized by local-level politics. The political debate revolved around 104 trees that would have had to be felled to accommodate the production (300 new ones would have been planted). Furthermore, some residents feared noise disturbances.
A final decision had originally been announced for June 13, but got postponed several times. It was finally made two weeks-later.
The decision making politicians were split over the issue, in the end Germany’s Green Party, CDU, Linke and Freie Wähle voted against, SPD and FDP for the concert, which sold out 80,000-plus tickets months ago.
FKP Scorpio CEO Folkert Koopmans had 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.
He found a way to make it happen after all, at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen. Koopman’s had been eyeing the arena, which is located around 50 kilometers north-east of D.Live Open Air Park, ever since the city of Düsseldorf hinted that it might draw its support. However, since the arena has a much smaller capacity than the open air park, Koopmans needed two dates, which only got confirmed recently.
Ticket seller and FKP parent company CTS Eventim has informed ticket holders about the ensuing procedure. It has come up with an allocation method that is supposed to guarantee “maximum objectivity and fairness.” For instance, fans that are undertaking a particularly long journey have greater chances of scoring a Sunday (June 22) ticket.
New tickets will be sent out in the coming days, old ones loose their validity. There’s also the option to send in old tickets by July 7 for a refund, in case the new location and date don’t work for some.
CTS Eventim states that it regrets the relocation of the concert on such short-notice, but that it is working hard with its partners to create an “unforgettable concert experience at Veltins Arena.”
Koopmans stated that the bad experience with the city of Düsseldorf marked a first in FKP Scorpio’s almost 30-year history of promoting. He cites the fact that his company stages more than 30 major concerts with capacities ranging from 30,000 to 80,000 this summer alone, and has put The Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters and Justin Bieber on some of the biggest stages in Europe.
His added that his team of 300 professionals across Europe meticulously prepared every event, and was awarded multiple times for different events and safety concepts. In light of his company’s reputation, the city of Düsseldorf’s decision was “unjustifiable.”
He said: “Ed Sheeran and his management deserve our sincere thanks. They were willing to completely overthrow their diary once again without hesitation. That’s the only reason the move to Gelsenkirchen became a real option.”