The events industry in Germany fears for its existence again due to new restrictions in the fight against the Corona crisis.

The new development with the transition from 3G to 2G rules and the recommendation of the Robert Koch Institute to cancel major events acutely endanger the industry, said industry lobbyist Kerstin Meisner on Tuesday.

According to an association survey of almost 1000 companies, over 77 percent had to accept massive cancellations within five days.

This means sales losses of around 98 million euros.

"It rattles like crazy every day now," said Christian Eichenberger, head of the Party Rent Group.

"This is amazing what we are currently seeing for cancellation rates."

The industry employed around 1.9 million people before the crisis.

However, because of the idle business since the virus pandemic in spring 2020, many employees and auxiliaries have left the industry, said Eichenberger.

He estimates the current number at around 1.1 million people.

Jobs at risk

Their jobs and the around 240,000 companies in the industry before the crisis are now at great risk.

"We have been in a catastrophe for 20 months".

Because the state aid did not come or came too late.

Eichenberger and Meisner demanded that the future government should definitely step up and secure the survival of the organizers.

Bridging aid and short-time working regulations would have to be extended.

According to calculations by the Munich-based Ifo Institute, the industry suffered a 70 percent drop in sales in the 2020 recession year.

In the current year it will "probably get worse", explained Eichenberger.

Together with Meisner, publisher at memo-media Verlag, he is part of an eleven-member expert council that represents the interests of the industry on behalf of the Federal Conference on Event Management.