Million euro deficit at Hessentag
The Hessentag in Pfungstadt this year incurred a deficit of more than ten million euros. This is the result of a statement from an auditing company, the town in southern Hesse announced. Contrary to the original planning from 2021, the ten-day event was therefore significantly more expensive than planned in many areas. Additional costs due to the corona pandemic had already been taken into account in the planning at the time, but not the consequences of the war in Ukraine with rising energy costs and inflation. Pfungstadt had readjusted the original financial plans in the run-up to this year's festival from an initial estimate of 8.7 million euros to a total volume of 10.6 million euros.
"The upcoming review and clarification of the question of why and in which areas the result deviates so much from the calculation will be carried out with the responsible service providers who were commissioned with the calculation, planning, cost controlling and implementation of the Pfungstadt Hessentag," a press release states. It is apparent that several reasons are responsible for the cost increases. Among other things, the noticeably lower number of visitors had an impact of around 2.2 million euros. Around 200,000 fewer guests visited the Hessentag than calculated.
"With the accounts now available to us, it is clear that the Hessentag was significantly more expensive than planned," said Mayor Patrick Koch. This is a nuisance in many respects and will be a challenge for the city's finances. The actual extent was neither foreseeable for the city nor had it been approved in detail. The 61st Hessentag will be held in Fritzlar from May 24 to June 2, 2024 under the motto "A city full of life".
The city plans to conduct a thorough investigation with the responsible service providers to understand why the actual costs exceeded the initial calculation by a significant margin. Once the fixes are implemented, the city hopes to avoid such substantial financial deviations in future Hessentags.
Source: www.dpa.com
