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Advent balconies in Rostock: Help urgently needed for a cultural highlight!
The Advent balconies in Rostock are about to be closed due to a lack of financial resources for traffic safety.
Advent balconies in Rostock: Help urgently needed for a cultural highlight!
In Rostock, the popular Advent balconies, which have been providing convivial and contemplative hours since 2018 under the direction of Wolfgang Schmiedt, are in danger of being canceled due to financial bottlenecks. A whopping 8,000 euros are missing for the necessary traffic safety, which not only endangers the future of this event, but also the community that regularly comes together to sing and celebrate Advent.
The city administration has obliged Schmiedt to cover the costs of road closures and traffic signs. This is a tough one, because the Advent balconies are a non-commercial cultural offering without admission, which makes financing even more complicated. After all, the Advent balconies have up to 800 participants, mostly families with children who want to sing together at Leonhardstrasse 21a/22.
Wolfgang Schmiedt recently launched a call for help in the cultural committee. A representative of the cultural department explains that the road safety requirements are “normal practice”, while Peter Dierken, a committed local resident, emphasizes how important the event is for the identity of the district. Last year, the city administration took over traffic safety at short notice, but this was communicated as a one-off exception.
Financing of cultural events
The current situation illustrates how precarious the financing of cultural projects in Germany often is. According to that Cultural Finance Report 2024 Public cultural spending, which is related to population and economic power, is crucial for many comparable events. In Rostock it is clear that the Cultural Office's subsidy for song lists, candles, technology and compensation for artists' expenses is not enough to cover the costs.
In order to defuse the situation, Schmiedt has submitted an application for special use to the police in order to possibly have traffic safety taken over from there. But the question remains: What happens if no solution is found? Without additional financial resources, the Advent balconies, a beloved tradition in the region, are in danger of failing.
The response to the Advent balcony concerts has grown in recent years, and this shows how much the community enjoys these special moments. For many people, this type of singing together is not just a cultural offering, but also a firmly anchored piece of identity in the neighborhood.