Stadiums and concert halls have often been empty in the past 18 months. Events in the Corona year? Just with the concept: 3G, mask, distance and few viewers. The events industry has suffered greatly from the measures taken against the pandemic and had to cancel numerous concerts and performances. A study on behalf of the Event Industry Interest Group (IGVW) now provides precise figures for the Corona year: the organizers lost an average of 76 percent in turnover in 2020.
Losing them means frustration at the same time – for the concertgoer: Many ticket holders have stuck with the organizers’ vouchers. For those who bought their concert tickets before March 8, 2020, special rules apply: In order to prevent bankruptcies in the industry, the federal government had allowed the organizers to compensate their customers with vouchers. Anyone who has not used them before and does not want to redeem them by December 31st can also have the vouchers paid out from the new year.
“We are assuming that many consumers will make use of their rights at the beginning of the coming year and have the value of the Corona vouchers paid out,” assumes the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center.
The ticket sales company Ticketmaster, on the other hand, is more relaxed about the turn of the year. Ticketmaster boss Klaus Zemke expects that many customers will sooner redeem the vouchers for upcoming events. “The demand from fans has not diminished,” he says. No wonder: concert fans were also on withdrawal for a long time. Meanwhile, the competitor Eventim does not dare to make a forecast. But: “We are observing that the vouchers that were issued were and are often used for substitute events,” said Frank Brandmaier, press spokesman for Eventim. Therefore, he cannot yet foresee the scope of the reimbursements.
If you decide to have the voucher paid out and do not want to wait for future concerts, the consumer advice center recommends writing to the company that issued the voucher. In the letter, the buyer should provide as precise information as possible, for example explicitly mentioning the date of issue or the value of the voucher.
One thing is certain: if you keep the voucher, you can be sure of anticipation.