Open-air concerts weigh whether to welcome listeners without tickets

As summer live music draws large audiences, people without tickets are increasingly listening from outside concert venues, BR24 reports. Recent examples include the Hafensommer music festival in Würzburg and a Mark Forster concert in Kitzingen, raising questions about safety, fairness and respect for paying guests.

On the Main meadows in Würzburg, several music fans settled in with blankets and camping chairs. They could hear the stage of the Hafensommer festival on the opposite bank, although the view was blocked. Singers Sorvina and Catt were scheduled to perform that evening.

Friends Antonina and Miriam had chosen the concert specifically as an outing. They brought fruit and snacks and listened to the music together. Although they could not see the floating stage on the Main, they could hear every note.

At large concerts, more people are choosing this option because tickets can be expensive. During Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Munich in 2024, tens of thousands of fans listened without tickets from the Olympiaberg hill. They gathered there with picnic blankets and parasols, calling the hill Mount Swiftie. Regular tickets cost up to 200 euros.

Kitzingen bridge closed to concert spectators

In Kitzingen, a decision by Mayor Enis Tiz of the Free Voters party prompted debate. Shortly before Mark Forster’s concert in mid-July, he banned people from staying on the Alte Mainbrücke, a bridge overlooking the stage and the Main. The city also had closely meshed nets installed beneath the bridge.

The city said it was concerned about fans jumping on the bridge and stones breaking loose below it. Comments on Tiz’s announcement on Facebook showed that not everyone was satisfied with the short-notice decision.

Tiz said he understood the criticism. He said he had attended many concerts as a teenager without tickets and found it wonderful. But he stressed that the decision had been made solely for the safety of residents.

The bridge has belonged to the city of Kitzingen for about 20 years. Tiz said larger events had been considered problematic there for some time, and the city could also ban people from staying on the bridge during the Kitzingen city run or on New Year’s Eve.

However, the restriction is not intended to be permanent. A new structural assessment and the first renovation contracts are due to follow this year. A design competition will then be held so the bridge can be preserved and used again as a meeting place without restrictions.

Tiz said he did not want to face another event and have to close the bridge because it needed renovation. He firmly rejected the accusation that the city had acted in the commercial interests of the event organiser, Bavaria Live Promotion. Tickets for the Mark Forster concert cost up to 90 euros.

Würzburg will continue to tolerate listeners without tickets

At Würzburg’s Hafensommer, people without tickets will continue to be tolerated without restrictions. Ingolf Stöcker, deputy head of the city’s cultural department and a co-organiser of the concert series, said they had little enjoyment because a nearby power plant blocked the view from the Old Harbour.

Stöcker said that if the power plant were not there and hundreds of people could watch the concert, the issue would also have an economic and respectful dimension. He said it would not be considered acceptable to use a service for which others had paid or worked to make successful.