Million Dollar Debt Jeopardizes Fusion Festival's Future
One of Germany's most iconic festivals is endangered due to reports of climbing debt. The organizers behind Fusion Festival, Kulturkosmos Müritz eV, issued a statement on the festival's website citing the debt will land between 1.5 and 2 million Euros after all tallying all calculations.
Fusion Festival 2022 took place earlier this summer and was the first in two years. The company raised ticket prices and received government grants to help with the costs accumulated during the pandemic. However, none of it was sufficient to help offset the reported 20 percent hike for materials, services, and infrastructure at this year's Fusion.
The post issued by the company explained that for Fusion 2023 to go forward, the festival's deficit must be resolved before the year's end.
Now in the face of insolvency, the festival organizers posted a call to arms to the broader international music community and Fusion Festival attendees to raise funds as quickly as possible.
According to the post, Kulturkosmos Müritz eV's options include bank loans, raffling 10,000 early bird tickets for next year's edition (sans price reductions, to go on sale September 26), and private lenders.
The company will also be selling properties, including a 100-year-old house bought and renovated in 2015 to house refugees and nine other plots of land on the outskirts of the Fusion site—at Müritz Airpark in Lärz, around two hours from Berlin.
The land is "ideal for those who have fled the city, are tired of the pandemic, and are Fusion-savvy home builders with children," said the organizers in the post.
Die-hard fans of Germany's longest-running festival may donate to the fundraising efforts through PayPal if they feel inclined to do so. "Fusion-themed shirts, hoodies, and other solidarity items" will be available for purchase mid-September as well, with all proceeds going toward lessening the deficit.
