Full name | Festhalle Messe Frankfurt |
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Location | Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany |
Coordinates | 50°06′42″N8°39′03″E / 50.11167°N 8.65083°E |
Public transit |
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Owner | Messe Frankfurt GmbH |
Capacity | 13,500 (concerts) 9,850 (with seats) |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 11 June 1907 |
Opened | 19 May 1909 |
Renovated | 1980s |
Architect | Friedrich von Thiersch |
Website | |
Official Website |
Festhalle Frankfurt, also known as Frankfurt Festival Arena, is a multi-purpose arena located in Frankfurt, Germany. The interior of the dome at its highest reaches a height of 40 meters. It provides an area of 5,646 square metres, offering by a variable grandstand system space for up to 8,500 people (together with the two tiers) seated, and 13,500 people unseated. [1]
At the end of the 19th century, the Frankfurt fair was held in various facilities. Frequently it was housed in the Hippodrome in Sachsenhausen (the quarters located south of the river Main), while at other times it was held in single-use pavilions. After a time many felt the city needed a dedicated exhibition hall. A competition was advertised, and the plans of the Marburg architect Friedrich von Thiersch made the short list of finalists. After several amendments, von Thiersch's concept was widely accepted. Construction began on 11 June 1907. On 19 May 1909, it was officially opened by Kaiser Wilhelm II. At the time of its completion, the Festhalle was the largest dome in Europe.
The German Gymnastics Festival and the International Air Show, were the first events in the new building. In 1914, at the outbreak of the First World War, the banquet hall was turned into a camp for soldiers. After the war the hall reverted to its original purpose.
On the night of 8 to 9 November 1938, during the November pogroms hundreds of Frankfurt's Jewish citizens were driven across the city centre to the Festhalle and some were seriously mistreated. The noted Frankfurt Opera singer Hans Erl was forced to sing "In Diesen Heil'gen Hallen" ("In These Holy Halls"). [2] From here, the first mass transports went into the Nazi concentration camps. The Festhalle is thus of considerable relevance for the Holocaust. The Frankfurt physician and Holocaust survivor Dr. Max Kirschner describes the deportation in his memoirs. Since 1991, a plaque displayed in the rotunda bears remembrance of this dark spot in history.
During the Second World War, the hall was used for the storage of uniforms of the armed forces. On 18 December 1940, textiles started a fire and put severe fire damage to the hall; whether to have been an act of arson, is unclear. Bombing by the Allied Forces damaged the Frankfurt Festhalle further.
After the Second World War thoughts appeared to demolish the hall, but the citizens of Frankfurt and their Mayor Walter Kolb prevented this. So makeshift repairs were enacted.
Led Zeppelin were the first rock band to headline the hall in July 1970.
During the 1980s, extensive modernizations, such as the installation of air conditioning were implemented.
Pink Floyd performed here on their 1977 In The Flesh Tour for two consecutive nights on 26 and 27 January and then on 20 and 21 June 1989 as part of their A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour. The Grateful Dead played the Festhalle on 22 October as part of their European Fall 1990 tour.
Today, the hall is serving again as an exhibition hall and is a popular venue for concerts by numerous prominent artists. During the International Motor Show Daimler AG traditionally occupies the Festhalle for the presentation of their Mercedes-Benz motor cars. In the first half of the 1990s the ATP World Championship was carried out in the banquet hall.
The MTV Europe Music Awards were held in the Festhalle in 2001 and 2012. In 2004 and 2007 the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) hosted some major live shows there.
Footage of Depeche Mode's show at this venue on 21 July 1993, is included on their video release Devotional .
On 13 April 2002, Irish vocal pop band Westlife held a concert for their World of Our Own Tour supporting their album World of Our Own.
On 24 September 2004 Canadian rock trio Rush recorded their R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour DVD at this venue.
On 28 June 2009 the centennial anniversary of the Festhalle was celebrated by a doors open day.
The Festhalle recently was being extensively renovated. In the bars on the window sills, windows and ventilation shafts were re-fitted with the originally existing gold leaf. Cupolas on the towers that had not been reconstructed after the war have been rebuilt. The paint was changed from white to the pristine bright ocher.
On 9 October 2022, the draw for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers took place here.
A planned May 2023 concert by Roger Waters was attempted to be canceled, after the Frankfurt city council called the former Pink Floyd singer/bassist “one of the world’s most well-known antisemites.”. [3] Waters took the matter before a court and, on 24 April, the court ruled in Waters’ favor, agreeing that he could perform. [4]
The Festhalle is one of the most important buildings of the late historicism. The architect's aim was to create the splendor of the neo-baroque style, the hall is a worthy representative of a fair city building of its day. The rectangular layout is superimposed by a cupola-crowned rotunda, which makes a contrast to the majestic architecture of the lower part.
The Festhalle was an archetype for many subsequent halls; the dome, in particular, was often imitated. The most famous example is the Centennial Hall in Wrocław by Max Berg.
George Roger Waters is an English musician and singer-songwriter. In 1965, he co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd as the bassist. Following the departure of the songwriter, Syd Barrett, in 1968, Waters became Pink Floyd's lyricist, co-lead vocalist and conceptual leader until his departure in 1985.
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A Festhalle is a German arena or community center. The root meaning of the name "Fest-halle" literally means "Feast-Hall," but is best translated as "Festival Hall" or "Civic Center." Festhalles can be found in many towns and cities in Germany, and range in size and use from small neighborhood activity centers, to large capacity stadiums able to seat thousands of spectators. Some of the best known Festhalle in Germany are as follows:
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The In the Flesh Tour, also known as the Animals Tour, was a concert tour by the English rock band Pink Floyd in support of their 1977 album Animals. It was divided in two legs: one in Europe and another in North America. The tour featured large inflatable puppets, as well as a pyrotechnic "waterfall", and one of the biggest and most elaborate stages to date, including umbrella-like canopies that would rise from the stage to protect the band from the elements.
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The Wall Live was a worldwide concert tour by Roger Waters, formerly of Pink Floyd. The tour is the first time the Pink Floyd album The Wall has been performed in its entirety by the band or any of its former members since Waters performed the album live in Berlin 21 July 1990. The first leg of the tour grossed in North America over $89.5 million from 56 concerts. It was the second-highest-grossing concert tour in North America in 2010 and the third-highest-grossing concert tour worldwide as of 2013. In 2013, the tour held the record for being the highest-grossing tour for a solo musician, surpassing the previous record holder, Madonna. It is currently the 7th highest-grossing tour of all-time.
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