Weather And Terrorism Tackled At Reeperbahn

Pollstar spoke with Co-CEO Detlef Schwarte, who’s in charge of the conference program.

“A couple of sessions are going to be explicitly concerned with those issues,” Schwarte said, referring to weather and terrorism. Both hit Germany particularly hard this year.

The annual panel addressing the current festival season will welcome Stuart Galbraith (Kilimanjaro Live), Michal Kašcák (Pohoda Festival), Fruzsina Szép (Lollapalooza Germany) and Anders Wahrén (Roskilde) on stage. Christian Diekmann (DEAG), Timo Kumpf (Maifeld Derby), Stephan Thanscheidt (FKP Scorpio) and Matthias Grischke (Novitas insurance broker) will debate the situation of festivals in central Europe on a panel dubbed “Severe Weather, Insurance and Competition.”

The session “Epic Production – Weatherproof Outdoor Events” revolves around practical aspects of production. Debaters include Okan Tombulca (eps) and Falco Zanini (Falco Zanini Event Safety). “Last but not least, John Giddings, the impresario of global stadium tours and promoter of the Isle Of Wight Festival, will have a lot to say about this topic,” Schwarte said.

Other live music panels include “Agent’s Agenda” with Henning Ahrens (Four Artists), Alex Bruford (ATC Live), Peter Elliot (Primary Talent) and Gordon Masson (IQ Magazine), as well as “Smart Touring” with Peter Sotos (Epic Proportions Tour) and Ralf Dietel and Niki Skistimas of Krashkarma. Live music will not only be talked about but performed as well. Some 450 concerts are taking place during the four days of Reeperbahn Festival.

Hamburg’s many iconic clubs will host the gigs. Schwarte is particularly pleased that “we have more showcases than ever, hosted by our partners from all over the world. This year, it’s more than 40. Plus our award shows like the Helga Festival Award are special highlights.”