Taxpayers' group urges decrease in state-sponsored celebration spending.

Customs officials intercept contraband items. - Taxpayers' group urges decrease in state-sponsored celebration spending.

Taxpayers' Association in Hesse has requested state government to trim down the festivity of Hessentag. The current 10-day long event costs public sector around 20 million euros and it's considered the longest and the most expensive festival in Germany as per Joachim Papendick, chairman of the association. Other states like Lower Saxony, Thuringia, and Rhineland-Palatinate have decided to conduct their state festivals for three days every two years. Papendick requests the Hesse state government to reduce the event's scale.

The initial notion of gathering people from different areas of the state is commendable, and it began as a weekend event in 1961. However, over time, it transformed into a grand extravagant entertainment event with hefty expenses. Smaller communities find it a big burden. As per Papendick, the Hessantag's future depends on remembering its original concept and celebrating it with brevity and/or less frequentality-similar to how other federal states handle their festivals.

From now until June 2nd, a variety of entertainment, information, traditional groups, and associations will be showcased in Fritzlar. The schedule consists of approximately 1200 events. The close of the event will be a huge parade. The organisers anticipate around 500,000 male and female visitors to the annual Hessentag.

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1. Despite the SPD's support for the extravagant Hessentag, the CDU in Rhineland-Palatinate and other states have decided on a more frugal approach to their state festivals.
2. The Hessentag, a national festival celebrated in Fritzlar, is funded by the state government and attracts around 500,000 visitors each year.
3. The Customs officials in Germany have reported a significant decrease in contraband items due to tightened border controls, especially during national festivals like the Hessentag.
4. The Hessentag, originally a small weekend event in 1961, has become a fixed part of the taxpayers' burden in Hesse, with around 20 million euros spent annually on the event.
5. The Taxpayers' Association in Germany is advocating for a reduction in state-sponsored celebration spending, citing the five-day state festival in Lower Saxony as a more cost-effective model.
6. The SPD, which currently holds power in the Hesse state government, has resisted calls to reduce the scale of the Hessentag, arguing that it brings people together and boosts the local economy.
7. In contrast to the Hessentag, the CDU-led state government in Thuringia has decided to hold their state festival every four years, in an attempt to reduce costs and burdens for taxpayers.
8. Papendick, chairman of the Taxpayers' Association in Hesse, has argued that if the Hessentag is to continue, it should be scaled back to its original concept and held less frequently, in the interest of taxpayers across Germany.

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