The end of the current contractual terms of the directorships at Theater Bonn (31 July 2028) and Beethoven Orchester Bonn (31 July 2027), as well as the upcoming necessary upgrades to all theater properties, opens up a unique window of opportunity for structural changes, collaborations and new content concepts. The aim of the process is also to achieve savings that will ease the burden on the municipal budget in the future. The upcoming investigations are intended to provide guidelines for the development of concrete consolidation options.
The structural process, which the city administration is proposing to politicians and which the council will discuss at its meeting on 8 May 2025, involves optimizing operating structures and service relationships with regard to the theater, Beethoven Orchestra and Beethoven Festival as well as bundling areas (including administration, mediation, marketing, ticketing), synergies and support opportunities for the independent scene.
Project structure
The Department of Culture proposes a project structure for implementation in which the structural and construction issues are brought together. The project structure provides for the establishment of a staff unit in Department IV, which is responsible for overall management and coordinates all processes. An internal, interdisciplinary project group manages all operational fields of action with the involvement of external planners and consultants. A steering group from politics and administration has been supporting the analysis process for the theater properties since March 2022. The SGB is responsible for managing the construction part of the project.
Birgit Schneider-Bönninger, Head of the Department of Sport and Culture, sees the process as a great opportunity to open up the theatres more broadly and reach new target groups: "The aim of the future agenda for Bonn's theatres is also to make it clear how cultural venues act as places of democracy. We want to use the time until 2028 to develop concepts for more participation together with politicians and the administration."
Once the Bonn City Council has adopted the future agenda and commissioned the structural project, the results will be presented in the first quarter of 2026 and decisions will be made on the structural and architectural future of Bonn's stages.
For Mayor Katja Dörner, the future of Bonn's stages is a priority: "In Bonn, it is now a matter of creating stable long-term framework conditions for culture - for the municipal theater, the municipal orchestra, the Beethoven Festival and the independent scene." Katja Dörner expressly welcomes the spirit of solidarity in the cultural scene: "Everyone is setting out together to shape the future of Bonn's stage landscape, to face the challenges of structural and content-related reforms and to develop new synergies. Bonn has a strong and diverse culture. We all want to preserve this diversity and make it even more open together."
Detailed information is published in this draft resolution (opens in a new tab).