If at some point thousands of people no longer come and pop singer Florian Silbereisen plays at a small birthday party, the 42-year-old will be just as happy as he is now.
“Everything has gotten bigger – the concerts, the shows. But I also enjoyed playing in front of 200 people before. And if I play in smaller houses and at small birthday parties again at some point, then that will be nice too,” The Schlager star told the dpa before the start of his anniversary tour “The big Schlagerfest XXL 2024 with Florian Silbereisen” in the evening in Riesa, Saxony.
On the tour that has now opened, Silbereisen is celebrating two anniversaries: the Feste shows have been around for 30 years and Silbereisen himself has been hosting the shows for 20 years. “I was looking for stages even as a little boy,” said the artist, who was born in the Bavarian community of Tiefenbach (Passau district). He sees his job as a gift. “It’s always something very special when we get to celebrate and sing with thousands of people again and again.”
Silbereisen speaks of a “feeling of madness”
A total of 80 people are traveling through Germany on the tour with Silbereisen. For 30 years, Christa Walther and Elke Schleuß-Gillmeister – 83 and 80 years old – have been responsible for Silbereisen’s wardrobe and the costumes of the other celebrities.
The hours before a concert are always very intense, Silbereisen said during the interview, which took place in the whirlwind before the concert between the sound check and the mask. “But something is being created and that’s good.”
Standing in front of tens of thousands celebrating peacefully together – “regardless of where they come from and what they believe in” – that was an “amazing feeling,” Silbereisen described. “That’s why you do it. Ultimately, you make people happy and they give so much back. They make me happy too.”
After the anniversary tour opens, Silbereisen and his team will also be visiting Leipzig, Rostock, Erfurt, Munich and Frankfurt in the next few weeks. Other stars of the pop scene will also be on stage with Silbereisen, such as DJ Ötzi, Thomas Anders and Ross Antony.
