From November 1st, the 2-G rule will apply in Bad Homburg.

Then only those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered have access to concerts, exhibitions, lectures and cabaret evenings in the English Church and the Villa Wertheimber, if the city is the organizer.

One test is no longer enough.

The Kur- und Kongreß GmbH also applies the rule in the Kurtheater and the warehouse of the train station.

For children under twelve years of age for whom there is no vaccination recommendation, a test certificate or the school test book is sufficient.

The 3-G rule continues to apply to regular visits to the city archive, the city library and the viewing depot in the Horex Museum, so that unvaccinated people with a negative test also have access.

In town houses and club houses, the process is left to the organizers.

Bernhard Biener

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for the Hochtaunus district.

  • Follow I follow

Mayor Alexander Hetjes (CDU) announced the intention two weeks ago, now the date has been set. “It will only be possible to keep our city offers open if we now consistently switch to 2G.” Spa director Holger Reuter cites the larger number of visitors that is permitted. "We can go back to the limits of our capacity." That is more economical for both the organizers and the artists.

Currently, of the 760 seats in the theater, only 300 could be used in a chessboard layout, i.e. with free neighboring seats and offset between the rows. An exception to the 2-G rule remains the casino, next to which a rapid test center opened in September. “With a heavy heart”, 3G still applies there, says the spa director. Excluding a third of the visitors is not economically justifiable. So many currently presented a negative test.

The otherwise clear stance of the spa town comes up against other limits in practice.

In performances for children, such as the small opera, the 3-G rule must inevitably continue to be applied for the time being, says Reuter.

Changing contracts that have already been concluded with the many guest ensembles that regularly come to the Kurtheater is also not easily possible.

“We have written to all the stages and are waiting for feedback.” Because with 2G, not only the guests, but all those involved have to be vaccinated or recovered.

Also the actors on the stage.

"With three or four actors that is probably not a problem," says the managing director of Kur- und Kongreß GmbH.

"But if a musician is not vaccinated in the orchestra, it won't work."

Employers are not allowed to inquire about vaccination status

For these reasons, Petra Greif, who heads the event service for the town hall in neighboring Oberursel, sees some hurdles. "2 G must then also apply to every service provider." If the landlord stipulated, there was a risk of damage claims. “That's why we leave it to the organizers for the time being.” In addition, the Stadthallen GmbH, as an employer, cannot ask its employees to provide information about the vaccination status. Stage technicians and caretakers are not among the professions that have been required to do so since September. However, voluntary information is possible. “Those who have not been vaccinated could, for example, be there to set up the event before the event,” says Reuter.

In view of the large number of different regulations in the countries, the European Association of Event Centers does not give its 340 members a general recommendation for 2 or 3 G. "It also depends on whether it is about a frontal lecture or a trade fair", says Felix Lechla from Member Support . The situation is complicated if contracts were concluded before Corona or between two ordinances. No wonder that the association's academy is currently primarily dealing with legal issues and that the advice of cooperation lawyers is in demand.

In the House of Encounters in Königstein, the following applies: “If the organizer wants, we can also do 2 G,” says project manager Rebecca Jahn. “But the mask still has to be worn all the way to the pitch.” In her small team, everyone is vaccinated. So far, however, all bookings have been made according to the 3-G rule. The organizers also wanted this for another reason: "More than the 150 chairs that we then put at a large distance instead of the maximum 550 are usually not needed." The popularity is not yet that great.

Jonas Steinert also made this experience for the Forum Friedrichsdorf in Köppern, which is particularly popular as a cabaret stage.

“It's less about 2 G or 3 G,” says the head of the sports and culture department.

"Some artists have canceled events because too little audience would have come." One is considering going to 2 G in 2022, says the Friedrichsdorf Mayor Lars Keitel (The Greens).

For the events up to the end of the year, this is not practical because of the ongoing advance sales.

"What do we do with people who already have a card and are not vaccinated?"