The Viennese themselves don’t know exactly where they’re going to play on Friday evening, June 24th. On the homepage of the Viennese scene band “Gewürztraminer” under the tour dates for the said date in “Steyr, Austria” there is only a meaningless “unknown venue”. The “unknown event” is the Steyr city festival, which, after a two-year absence from Corona, is taking place for the first time under the responsibility of the head of the cultural department, Hansjörg Rangger, and the city councilor for culture, Katrin Auer (SP).
The team promises that the festival will remain recognizable for the people of Steyr after the long viral break, despite a variety of changes and innovations. The cast of the main act at the beginning of the three-day festival is always the compass needle pointing the direction of the festival. “I see the main task of the city festival as being to entertain the people of the city again,” says Auer, and at first glance follows in the footsteps of former mayor Gerald Hackl (SP). He wanted less avant-garde at the festival and certainly no cultural program. People should simply enjoy life, get a little cheerfulness and enjoy grilled chicken and draft beer.
According to Auer, the entertainment should just as well be guaranteed by the “Gewürztraminer”, who, after the gig in Steyr, will be making guest appearances at the jazz festival in Saalfelden, among other places. “It’s the case that the city festival offers a variety anyway,” says Auer, who doesn’t want the festival to be pigeonholed too narrowly. There will also be a cooperation with the “Grünlandfest” in the palace park, where the left-wing alternative youth scene puts together a first-class line-up every year, subsidized by the city. The winners of the Steyr Music Award, among others, will have a stage at the Neutor, while hits and tearjerkers will go through the loudspeakers at the Ennskai and folk groups will play in a tent on the town square. “The forecourt of the World of Works Museum is also a new location,” says Rangger. The environment there, right next to the technical college, encourages performances by the singer-songwriter scene and political bands. All of this should be divided into the formula for the success of the new city festival by the common denominator “something for everyone”. Yesterday, the city senate released a budget for the city festival of 150,000 euros for the implementation and the necessary resolution in the municipal council, which looks like a very proud sum. However, the working hours of the municipal companies and a 10,000 euro safety buffer after Corona are also included. “After the long break, it’s a restart,” says Rangger.
Katrin Auer, City Councilor for Culture, SP
Source: Nachrichten
