Essen (dpa/lnw) - The renowned light art festival in Essen is to take place in a slimmed-down form this year due to the energy crisis. The number of venues has been reduced from 18 last year to 14, said the managing director of Essen Marketing GmbH, Richard Röhrhoff, on Tuesday. Only energy-saving LEDs are used, complex light and laser shows have been completely eliminated. "Everything is one size smaller, but we found a good compromise," said Röhrhoff.
With around 400,000 visitors every year, the Essen Light Festival is the second largest festival of its kind in Germany after Berlin. There was a brief public discussion about a cancellation, said Röhrhoff. "But if you miss a year, you also miss two years and then maybe won't come back at all." The city center was "extremely shaken" after the corona pandemic, said the head of city advertising, Florian Hecker. A "frequency generator" like the festival is urgently needed.
