The 17th Federal Assembly will take place under the conditions of the corona pandemic - and will therefore be a very special one.

In the morning, however, everything started as planned with an ecumenical service in the St. Marienkirche in Berlin, which Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife attended.

Here are the special features of the Federal Assembly, which meets at 12 noon:

Lots of technology

The corona-related relocation of the Federal Assembly from the plenary hall of the Reichstag building to the neighboring Paul-Löbe-Haus was also a technical challenge: around 30 large displays were installed there, 100 spotlights were installed and 264 speaker set up.

In addition, more than 20 kilometers of power and data cables were laid.

safety first

In order not to let the Federal Assembly become a corona hotspot, security is a top priority.

All delegates must have a negative recent test result.

Then they get an orange ribbon around their wrist.

A test center was set up in front of the Reichstag with a capacity of up to 650 tests per hour.

99 replacements are available for electoral women and men who test positive.

expense allowance

Members of the Federal Assembly who do not belong to the Bundestag and do not come from Berlin receive an expense allowance of 75 euros per day for travel to and the parliamentary group meetings on Saturday, the Federal Assembly on Sunday and, if necessary, departure on Monday.

MPs and Berliners get nothing.

In addition, the overnight stays as well as the arrival and departure are paid for.

Those who used the train were allowed to travel 1st class.

If you come by plane, you can book Business Class.

Conspicuous participants

Five years ago, drag queen Olivia Jones from Hamburg was the eye-catcher at the Federal Assembly.

She brought color to the event with an orange mane.

Her successor this year is Gloria Viagra, who was nominated by Die Linke in Berlin.

However, she will not be successful: Jones managed to sneak up on Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the new Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the crowd in the plenary hall.

This will not be possible this year due to the strict distance rules.

guest gift

So that the delegates and substitute delegates have more than just memories of the Federal Assembly, they are also given a small gift: a CD with compositions by the Berlin vibraphonist Oli Bott.

Exactly 100 years ago, when the Deutschlandlied was declared the national anthem, the Bundestag commissioned him to write a kind of musical history of this piece.

He did and recorded the whole thing with his jazz ensemble.

Difficult session management

Normally, Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) has a direct view of all MPs in the plenary hall.

Not so with the Federal Assembly, whose members are accommodated in the Paul-Löbe-Haus on five floors.

The situation is also completely unfamiliar for the plenary assistance service and the meeting service.