Club scene after Corona: “People are in the mood for a party again”

Dhe calendar for the last night of the year is jam-packed again after more than two years of the pandemic: there are New Year’s Eve parties with gala dinners, there are festivals for the “Silver Agers”, there is karaoke, rock ‘n’ roll New Year’s Eve, 80’s and 20’s parties. There are bar nights with expensive cocktails, performances by star DJs as well as local greats, house parties, indie rock, reggae nights and a whole lot more. After a long forced break for the clubs, there will finally be extensive celebrations again at the turn of the year. No minimum distances, masks, vaccination certificates, Luca app.

But how is the club and concert scene doing today? Where does the events industry stand, for which the corona pandemic was probably the toughest test it has ever experienced? A clear, unequivocal answer to this is difficult to find. On the one hand, there is a lot of good news again, from clubs where the evenings are getting better and better, from a new mood for partying and going out that has gripped people despite inflation and the uncertain situation, from sold-out major concerts and the boom in Christmas markets. But you still hear about theaters that are at most half full, tours canceled because advance sales for many concerts have gone badly, and about the ongoing concern of getting infected all too easily in clubs, discotheques or concert halls – maybe not with Corona anymore, but then with the flu or RS virus.

“Almost all our parties are sold out”

“I try not to be pessimistic,” Meike Heinigk describes the situation. Heinigk is the managing director of the Darmstadt Central Station. She is responsible for the bookings there, and mainly takes care of literature, theater and events for children. The Centralstation, housed in a brick former power station in downtown Darmstadt, is known for its diverse program: there are concerts by up-and-coming indie bands and sophisticated jazz as well as “mega hits” parties. Comedians and writers also perform regularly.

In the past few months, since events have been able to run again without restrictions, Heinigk has observed that the party program in the Central Station in particular has been well received again. “Almost all of our parties are sold out,” she reports. “The younger audience is back, we often even have more guests than before the pandemic.”

Especially those who are at the end of their school days or who have already started their studies have “catching up to do”. Anyone who is young and has hardly been able to go out for more than two years because of the pandemic is now catching up on partying intensively. The older visitors, however, are hesitant. This is particularly noticeable in the concert program.

Heinigk says that many concerts in her house are still poorly attended. “It takes a lot longer than expected for people to come back,” she says. “I’m also afraid that we lost part of our audience completely during the pandemic.” However, those who come to the concerts are usually enthusiastic. “People notice what they missed without live experiences,” says Heinigk.