In the past days and weeks, some tough decisions had to be made regarding upcoming major events. Decisions that those in charge have not taken lightly, but which are unavoidable given the current situation. This has now also affected the Hessentag. The 60th edition of the state festival was actually supposed to take place in Bad Vilbel in June. But the city has now pulled the ripcord together with the state of Hesse and has completely cancelled the Hessentag.
Bad Vilbel's mayor Dr Thomas Stöhr and the head of the state chancellery, state minister Axel Wintermeyer, announced the decision on Thursday. They expressed their regret, but underlined that the health of the visitors and the many employees have absolute priority: "We would have very much liked to have celebrated the largest and oldest state festival in Germany, the Hessentag, in Bad Vilbel in 2020. The city of Bad Vilbel as organizer and the state of Hesse are aware of the special responsibility for a successful and safe Hessentag. In view of the very dynamic and serious situation worldwide and in Germany due to the Corona virus, a planned implementation in the last phase cannot be guaranteed. Supported by new risk analyses and assessments by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Robert Koch Institute, we believe it is right and important to prioritize the protection of risk groups and to ensure that capacities are kept free in the medical sector and among aid organizations. This also applies to a period at the beginning of June, for which no conclusive assessment can be made today. Therefore, the city of Bad Vilbel has decided in close coordination with the state of Hesse to cancel the Hessentag this year," said Stöhr and Wintermeyer.
As many associations, institutions, partners and employees of the city had already been working under high pressure for many months to offer visitors a wonderful Hessentag, the decision had not been taken lightly. Nevertheless, there is no alternative to the cancellation. "On behalf of everyone, our thanks go to the Hessentag commissioner, Claus-Günther Kunzmann with his entire team," said Bad Vilbel's mayor.
Of course, the cancellation will also incur a lot of costs, but Minister of State Wintermeyer assured: "We will not leave the city of Bad Vilbel out in the cold. We have opted for a partnership-based handling with regard to the unavoidable costs. Special challenges require special solutions." However, the exact amount of the costs can only be reported after the final settlement is available.
"For the Hessian state government, the safety of the population has top priority. For this, we ask all those who have worked with extraordinary commitment to the implementation of the Hessentag 2020 and all those who were already looking forward to the visit to Bad Vilbel in June for understanding," stressed the head of the State Chancellery.
In five years, however, Bad Vilbel is definitely to become the Hessentag city: "In view of these special circumstances, we as a state will in any case reserve the next open date for a Hessentag 2025 for the city of Bad Vilbel by the end of this year - we owe this to the many great supporters of the Hessentag," Wintermeyer concluded.
