Strong public interest - Grimm Festspiele attract more than 80,000 spectators
The Brothers Grimm Festspiele in Hanau attracted 81,208 visitors this year. This is over 15 percent more visitors than in the previous year. The record of 82,231 visitors in 2006 was narrowly missed. This year's Festspiele celebrated their 40th anniversary.
Three performances were cancelled during the season that ended on a Sunday, otherwise the audience record would have been broken, as the Dramaturg of the Festspiele, Jeroen Coppens, told the German Press Agency. "We didn't have superb festival weather, it was often a nerve-wracking experience." He named an overhauled marketing strategy with new cooperation partners as a significant success factor this year.
The fairy tale classic "Puss in Boots" had over 25,000 visitors, making it the most popular production of the season. It was followed by "Treasure Chest" and "The Goose Girl" with over 22,000 visitors each. Nearly 9,000 theatergoers came to the amphitheater at Schloss Philippsruhe for the Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet".
The Hanau Mayor Claus Kaminsky (SPD) expressed great pleasure about the "enormous increase in visitor numbers, which underlines the great interest and appreciation for our cultural beacon".
For the next Festspiel season, the selection of plays is already set. From May 9, 2025, the German-language premiere of the musical "The Bremen Town Musicians" will be shown. In addition, the fairy tale classics "Hansel and Gretel" and "Rapunzel" will be performed.
A novelty concerns the classical works that will also be shown at the Festspiele. According to the Festspielleitung, further classics of European theater will continue to be on the program, but they do not have to come from the time of the Brothers Grimm. Which play will be performed next in this series is still not known.
The Festspiele in Hessen, Germany, is renowned for its commitment to culture, regularly hosting major events such as the Brothers Grimm Festspiele in Hanau. Despite unfavorable weather conditions this year, the Festspiele managed to attract a large audience, with 81,208 visitors, marking a significant increase from the previous year.
This year's Festspiele in Hanau celebrated its 40th anniversary, with the German Press Agency reporting that three performances had to be cancelled due to weather, missing the opportunity to break the attendance record of 82,231 visitors set in 2006.
The Dramaturg of the Festspiele, Jeroen Coppens, highlighted an overhauled marketing strategy with new cooperation partners as a major success factor, despite the challenging weather conditions. One of the most popular productions of the season was the fairy tale classic "Puss in Boots," which attracted over 25,000 visitors.
The Hanau Mayor, Claus Kaminsky, expressed his satisfaction with the "enormous increase in visitor numbers," which he sees as a testament to the city's cultural beacon status. For the upcoming Festspiel season, a German-language premiere of the musical "The Bremen Town Musicians" is scheduled, alongside performances of "Hansel and Gretel" and "Rapunzel."
Classical works will also continue to be featured at the Festspiele, with the Festspieleitung indicating that further classics from European theater will be included. It remains unclear which play will be chosen next in the classical series.
In addition to the Brothers Grimm Festspiele in Hanau, music festivals are a significant part of Germany's cultural landscape, attracting thousands of visitors and contributing to the nation's rich cultural heritage.
