Some have been waiting for many years to see the famous Passion Play in Oberammergau. Because a tour operator is insolvent, some could go away empty-handed for 2022 despite early reservations.
Several hundred visitors to the Oberammergau Passion Play have to fear for their booking after the bankruptcy of a ticket dealer. The bankruptcy of the retailer, who had mainly sold travel offers for Oberammergau as packages with accommodation, probably caused total damage in the six-figure range, said the press spokesman for the Passion, Frederik Mayet. He estimates the number of injured parties at around 1,000. After the Corona-related cancellation of the Passion in March 2020, around half of all festival customers would have rebooked to the performances now planned for May to October 2022. In the case of complete cancellations, the total price was reimbursed; in the case of rebooking, the Passion Play repaid 90 percent of the ticket price – in this case to the dealer. They kept ten percent as a deposit. The main aim now is to find those affected, Mayet said. “It is in our interest that those affected get in touch with us.”
The insolvency proceedings had already been opened on October 29th by decision of the Weilheim district court. For weeks, numerous injured package tour customers, but also tour operator partners, have been reporting to the Passion Play to find out where their payments are going, according to Oberammergau. It turned out that in many cases the dealer had apparently received substantial down payments for package tours without providing the legally required insolvency protection in the form of a security certificate, according to the Passion Play. Therefore, the down payments of many, if not all, of the dealer’s package tour customers may not be secured.
There is no insurance, confirmed the Lecon law firm. Their attorney, Michael George, is acting as an insolvency administrator in the case. Like the Passion Play, these customers can now register their claims with the insolvency administrator as part of the insolvency proceedings. The Passion, originally planned for 2020, is now set to take place from May 14th to October 2nd, 2022. In Oberammergau, too, one sees the high corona numbers with concern. “We hope and are in good spirits,” says Mayet, who is taking on the role of Jesus for the second time. The first reading sample is planned for January.
The passion goes back to an almost 400 year old vow. The plague raged in Europe – and finally killed the people in the place at the foot of the mountains. In 1633 the people of Oberammergau promised to perform the Passion every ten years if no one died of the epidemic – which, according to legend, happened.