Major concert: Journalists complain about restrictions at Adele show

There will be no press photos of the concerts of British mega-star Adele in Munich – contrary to custom, photo and video journalists are not allowed. This has caused considerable anger among the media. “This ban is completely unacceptable,” criticizes the chairman of the Bavarian Journalists’ Association (BJV), Harald Stocker. The fact that the media instead received selected photos from the organizer “mocks the work of journalists.”

Especially since a flood of images from the concerts is to be expected on social networks. “These actors make a lot of money from the photos and videos uploaded by visitors, while media that are supposed to contribute to democratic opinion-forming can only fulfill their journalistic mission to a limited extent,” complained Stocker.

Usually, photo and TV journalists are allowed to take their own photos during the first three songs at major concerts. At Adele’s concert, however, photographers and camera teams are not allowed at all – instead, the media are to be given a link to selected material. The reason given is poor: “There have been several discussions with management about this, and now it is final because this is how Adele shows have always been done – no matter when or where,” Live Nation, one of the two organizers, told several media outlets.

Adele will perform ten times in August in an arena built especially for her, complete with an attached mini-festival, on the grounds of the Munich Trade Fair. A total of 730,000 spectators are expected. The state capital expects that the mega-shows will bring more than half a billion euros into the region. The municipality could have used its house rules to support Bild’s reporting, criticised Stocker. The BJV has long been calling for public event venues to include a freedom of the press clause in their contracts with tenants and contractual partners.