Interview Dr. Ralf Schulze
"Culture is the heartbeat of our democracy"
Photo: Dirk Hanus
Photo: Dirk Hanus
Dr. Ralf Schulze, Managing Director of C3 - Chemnitz Event Centres, on the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025, visible spaces for democracy and unconventional venues for events, the maker city of Chemnitz and the revival of the congress business, the Purple Path and other impulses for planners.
tw tagungswirtschaft: Chemnitz is the European Capital of Culture 2025. What does that mean for you?
Dr Ralf Schulze: As European Capital of Culture 2025, Chemnitz offers a unique opportunity to further develop and sustainably transform the city. For us, this means actively participating in this change - through encounters, dialogue and joint design. The Capital of Culture strengthens cohesion, opens up new perspectives and creates bridges between people, generations and cultures. It is an invitation to rediscover Chemnitz in all its diversity and to shape the future together.
The idea of the Capital of Culture year is to unite Europe through culture. To what extent can culture achieve this?
For me, culture is the heartbeat of our democracy. In Chemnitz, too, there were initially discussions and doubts - citizens who did not feel sufficiently involved and organisations whose ideas could not be implemented. But by the opening weekend at the latest, the mood had turned positive. In front of the concert stages, at the programme presentations and in the evenings in the city's clubs, you could really feel the unity - the heartbeat - of a major cultural event.
By the opening weekend on 18/19 January 2025 for the Capital of Culture year Chemnitz, the unifying effect of the major cultural event will be palpable. Photo: Chemnitz 2025, Kristin Schmidt
Anti-European and EU-sceptical parties achieved 40 per cent in the 2024 state elections in Saxony in Chemnitz with the AfD and the BSW. The Bidbook for Chemnitz 2025 includes new strategies to combat racism, for example through the European Democracy Makers project. How do events help to strengthen democracy and combat racism?
What particularly impresses me is the enormous commitment of Chemnitz's citizens, associations and initiatives. Thousands have already got involved with their own projects - and there will be many more in the course of the Capital of Culture year. The entire process - from the generation of ideas to their selection and realisation - is already a significant part of the urban transformation process. New spaces and formats have been created that facilitate dialogue and invite people to act together. We are experiencing a time in which democracies around the world are under pressure - in the USA, in many parts of Europe and also here in Saxony and Chemnitz. In this context, culture can be a bridge: it creates encounters, promotes social cohesion and opens up new perspectives. Cross-border projects with our European neighbours in particular - from Poland and the Czech Republic, for example - make us aware that there is much more that unites us than divides us. Values such as openness, tolerance and mutual respect cannot be taken for granted, but must be lived and defended again and again. But dialogue alone is not enough. Democracy needs visible spaces in which the broad democratic centre asserts and strengthens itself. Because where commitment, cohesion and co-creation take centre stage, there is no room for enemies of democracy.
"Democracy needs visible spaces in which the broad democratic centre asserts and strengthens itself. Because where commitment, cohesion and co-creation take centre stage, there is no room for enemies of democracy."
Dr Ralf Schulze, Managing Director of C3 - Chemnitzer Veranstaltungszentren
Photo: Chemnitz 2025, Kristin Schmidt
The bid to become the Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 comes from civil society. With the motto "C the Unseen", the people of Chemnitz want to draw attention to the unseen. What can the planners of business events discover?
For me, "C the Unseen" means consciously focussing on what often remains hidden: on people whose commitment is not always sufficiently appreciated, on stories that are rarely told and on perspectives that can enrich us. The motto is also an appeal: it reminds us of the value of Europe - what it means to live in freedom and not only to demand democracy, but to actively help shape it. In practical terms, this means discovering Chemnitz and the surrounding partner region on the Purple Path, turning garages into studios, meeting people at the Hat Festival or the Capital of Culture Marathon, making toys or dancing the tango. Anyone planning an event here will not only discover unconventional spaces, but also new impulses for inspiration, networking and collaboration.
The Capital of Culture year has 160 projects and 1,000 events. What are your top three?
My top three highlights are definitely the Hat Festival at the end of May, makers united and the Kosmos weekends in June. The Hutfestival transforms Chemnitz into a huge stage full of street art, music and performance - a unique mix of street art, surprise and international flair. Makers united brings together creative minds, craftspeople and innovators. New ideas, networks and exciting collaborations are created here - a platform that shows how culture and business can benefit from each other. And finally, the Kosmos weekends: they offer a varied programme of art, science and interactive formats that bring the diversity of the Capital of Culture to life.
Makers united, the European festival for creativity, technology and innovation, is taking place in the Stadthalle Chemnitz. Chemnitz wants to position itself as a city of makers - to what extent does this benefit the congress and trade fair city of Chemnitz?
The maker theme symbolises the spirit of the regional economy very well. We also reflected this on the opening weekend with the locomotive transport. Richard Hartmann was already building locomotives in the mid-19th century without his factory having a railway siding. Back then, the finished locomotives were pulled to the railway station on horseback. We reinterpreted this pioneering spirit at the opening weekend of Chemnitz 2025 by having people pull a locomotive together - a powerful symbol of cooperation and determination.
Chemnitz 2025 ties in with the regional economy with the maker theme. People literally pull along with the locomotive transport on the opening weekend. Photo: Chemnitz 2025, Mark Frost
With makers united, we are bringing this heritage into the present. The festival combines creativity, technology and innovation and brings the maker city of Chemnitz to life. This is a great opportunity for the congress and trade fair city in particular: it offers companies, scientists and creative minds a platform for networking and presenting new ideas. At the same time, children, young people and families are also inspired by future technologies. This creates new links between tradition and innovation - and Chemnitz positions itself as a dynamic business and event location.
Two million visitors are expected in Chemnitz during the Capital of Culture year. Hotel occupancy will increase and with it the prices for overnight stays. Will the Capital of Culture year revitalise or impair the congress business?
The high number of visitors in the Capital of Culture year naturally leads to an increased demand for accommodation and therefore to a moderate increase in hotel prices. Nevertheless, this does not have an inhibiting effect on the congress business - on the contrary. Increased hotel occupancy is an indicator of the growing attractiveness of Chemnitz as a location. Organisers, congress centres and hoteliers are working closely together to optimally manage capacities and ensure a smooth process concept. In addition, congress participants benefit from the special atmosphere and the diverse cultural offerings that Chemnitz presents as part of the Capital of Culture year. This shows that the dynamic impetus provided by the Capital of Culture year, despite higher accommodation costs, is revitalising the congress business overall and strengthening the location in the long term.
The C3 - Chemnitz event centres include the Carlowitz Congress Centre, Chemnitz City Hall, Chemnitz Exhibition Centre, Klaffenbach moated castle, the stadium on Gellertstraße and Villa Esche.
The 2024 financial year was a successful one for C3 - Chemnitzer Veranstaltungszentren, particularly in the congress sector. They hosted 40,000 congress participants. Did the Capital of Culture year play a part in this?
The Capital of Culture year has definitely played a part in the increased interest in Chemnitz as an event location. Many people in Chemnitz are taking a new pride in their city and discovering its potential as a congress and conference destination. This positive self-image is also reflected in the active participation of clubs and associations: more and more organisations are making a concerted effort to bring their national conventions and specialist conferences to Chemnitz. The growing interest shows that the city is gaining in appeal not only culturally, but also as a congress location - a development that will have an impact far beyond the Capital of Culture year.
"More and more organisations are making a concerted effort to bring their national meetings and specialist conferences to Chemnitz."
Dr Ralf Schulze, Managing Director of C3 - Chemnitzer Veranstaltungszentren
In Weimar, the congress centre weimarhalle has had an impact for 25 years beyond the European Capital of Culture year 1999. What event-related infrastructure will be created as part of Chemnitz 2025 in the coming years?
Chemnitz already has an excellent event infrastructure with the Carlowitz Congress Centre, the Stadthalle Chemnitz, the Messe Chemnitz, the Villa Esche and the Wasserschloss Klaffenbach. The focus of the Capital of Culture application was therefore not on a new congress building, but on the sustainable further development of the public space. The Purple Path is a unique art and culture project that will have an impact far beyond the city centre. In more than 30 so-called intervention areas, citizens were able to actively help shape new meeting places in their neighbourhoods - including walking paths, seating areas for exchange or new access points to the Chemnitz river. These measures enrich the city in the long term and also offer inspiring opportunities for future supporting programmes and networking events.
After West Berlin in 1988, Weimar in 1999 and Essen in 2010, Chemnitz will be the fourth European Capital of Culture in Germany in 2025. What do you want people to remember?
We want people to remember that culture can be a key driver for the transformation of society. Similar to other Capitals of Culture, we want to show that culture can have a long-term impact. The concept of sustainability, coined by Hans Carl von Carlowitz in Chemnitz back in 1713, is key to this. For us, sustainability means not only celebrating an outstanding cultural event for a year, but also ensuring that the projects and impulses from it remain effective in the long term. If Chemnitz manages to leave behind projects after the Capital of Culture year that are still relevant in the future and contribute to the positive development of the city, this will send a strong and sustainable signal for the entire region.
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