This love has lasted for two decades: Roland Kaiser opened his annual concert series “Kaisermania” in Dresden last weekend in front of around 24,000 enthusiastic fans and hundreds of onlookers – on two evenings in a row. “It’s your anniversary, just like mine,” he called out to the crowds at the start on Friday evening on the Königsufer – alluding to the 20th edition of the spectacle. There will be three more concerts next weekend.
But even if the “Kaisermania” has been an integral part of the Dresden concert summer for 20 years and the performances are usually sold out within minutes, the future of the multi-day spectacle seems uncertain. As the “Bild” reports, soon no Kaiser song could be heard on the banks of the Elbe.
Dieter Semmelmann, concert organizer Kaisers, explains: “We are now in the situation that we can currently only plan until 2025 and have no security for 2026. If we can no longer implement it in this form, we will have to look for an alternative location.”
From 2026, the city of Dresden wants to re-advertise the series of events “Filmnächt am Elbufer”, which also includes the “Kaisermania” concerts – and above all throughout Europe. It would therefore be unclear what the series would look like in the future and whether (Kaiser) appearances would take place.
The reason for the new tender is a city council decision from June. The reason for this is that all city events are advertised, even weekly markets, according to the “Bild”. However, it was by no means the city of Dresden that invented and established the “Film Nights on the banks of the Elbe”, but rather a private company. According to the tabloid, the discussion is probably primarily about money. The city wants to get more out of the success of the series of events, but at the same time not want to bear the risk, for example from flooding or a rainy summer.
Semmelmann said: “Dresden and ‘Kaisermania’ belong together. With the current popularity, however, Roland Kaiser could play anywhere in Germany. If we are no longer valued here, we can go elsewhere. But why you want to give up a long-term collaboration, I can understand don’t understand.” And further: “Nobody knows what the city really wants. So far, nobody has spoken to us specifically. We ask ourselves the question of the background. If the city thinks it’s getting too little rent, then maybe we should talk. “
But Kaiser doesn’t make it as easy as his organizers do. For him, Dresden, the banks of the Elbe and “Kaisermania” have been something very special for years, as he explained to the German Press Agency: “It will be this mixture of the venue with the silhouette of the old town as a backdrop with the Frauenkirche and Semperoper, in contrast with the modern stage.” He believes that is the crucial point.
This time the “Kaisermania” in Dresden includes a total of five instead of the usual four concerts. The approximately 60,000 tickets were sold out again in just a few minutes.
Source: DPA, Bild.de
