Host Nation Update, May 8, 2024
Summer in Stuttgart – make a note of these street festivals in your calendar
The city’s most beautiful square on Schlossplatz will be the venue for the highlights this summer: the start of the local Radio/TV station SWR’s Summer Festival is from May 17 to July 29 (end of the Jazz Open), Stuttgart will show just how great it is to party in the heart of the host city between the New Palace and the Königsbau.
Hamburg fish market
The Hamburg Fish Market will take place earlier this year due to the European Football Championship. It runs from May 23 to June 2 the festival will be set up at Karlsplatz and offers treasures from the sea.
European Soccer Championship will take place from June 14 to July 14, and the Schlossplatz area will be dedicated to soccer. All European Championship matches will be shown on big screens for up to 30,000 fans. Robin Schulz, Topic, Leony and Le Shuuk will perform at the opening concert on June 13, one day before the start of the tournament.
Heusteigviertel Festival
For many, this is one of the most beautiful street festivals in Stuttgart, as it takes place in the splendid Gründerzeit quarter. This year, from June 28 to 30, you can once again sip Aperol in the streets lined with beautiful old buildings or browse at the flea market.
Marienplatz festival
The Marienplatzfestival will take place from 4 to 7 July with live music and a children’s cultural and sports program in the south of Stuttgart. There is also a plan to prevent visitors from buying beer and food in the nearby supermarkets or bringing it from home – true to the motto “Support your locals”.
Bohnenviertelfest or Bean Quarter Festival
The street festival will take place in Stuttgart’s historic old town: from July 18 to 20
CSD (Christopher Street Day)
Not a classic street festival, but still an event that one should mark in their calendar: Christopher Street Day. On Sat, July 27, 2024, crowds of people will once again parade through the streets of Stuttgart in bright colors, demonstrating for free love and partying into the early hours of the morning.
Weindorf or Wine Village
What would Stuttgart be without the wine village in summer? Two weeks, lots of booths with lots of regional food – and of course lots of regional wine. The whole thing takes place this year from August 28 to September 8 as usual on the market square, Schillerplatz and Kirchstraße. (Stuttgarter Nachrichten, May 8, 2024)
Danger for bees and other insects – Asian hornet approaching the Stuttgart region
“This could also be a huge problem for us beekeepers here in Stuttgart.” Helmut Horn is President of the Württemberg Beekeepers’ Association. Horn doesn’t want to paint horror scenarios yet, but: “We have to be vigilant, and even then, it won’t be possible to completely eliminate the problem.” Because one thing is certain:
the Asian hornet is approaching the Stuttgart region, and it will not only pose major problems for beekeepers. The imminent arrival of large populations of the wasp species, which originally comes from Southeast Asia, is preceded by horror reports from Spain and France. Experts are reporting totally destroyed orchards and vineyards and bee colonies that have been virtually wiped out.
“The Asian hornet’s need for food is particularly high in August and September,” says Helmut Fesseler, Vice President of the Württemberg beekeepers’ association: “It is precisely during this time that bee colonies are decimated – with devastating consequences for the coming years.” In one year, Horn explains, Asian hornets need around 10 to 12 kilograms of protein, i.e. meat, for a nest in which up to 2,000 hornets can live. The hornets’ favorite food is bees. The returning honeybees are caught in the air in front of the beehive by the hornets. If you consider that one bee weighs 100 milligrams, around 100,000 to 120,000 bees are needed for an Asian hornet nest. By way of comparison, the hornets previously native to Germany only need one kilogram per nest per year. However, the Asian hornet not only eats bees, but also other insects. Of course, hornets can also endanger biodiversity.” As hornets like to feed on pears and apples, plantation owners suffer a loss of yield and harvest workers are at increased risk of being stung. Rein’s job is to coordinate measures against the spread of the Asian hornet on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment and Agriculture.
As part of a two-year project, incoming reports are checked centrally for Baden-Württemberg, preparations are made for trapping queens and removing nests, and research and public relations work is carried out. The work is accompanied by an “Asian hornet round table” under the direction of the Ministry of the Environment.
The first Asian hornets were also found in and around Stuttgart in 2023, including in Stuttgart-Vaihingen and -Rohracker, Sindelfingen, Ehningen, Rutesheim, Heimerdingen and Ludwigsburg. Hornet nests were also discovered and destroyed in the latter three municipalities. This year, several individual nests have already appeared, including a new one in Großbettlingen (Esslingen district): “If the weather gets a little warmer, the numbers will certainly climb quickly around Stuttgart too.” Anyone who discovers Asian hornets or nests can and should report them online via the website https://www.lubw.baden-wuerttemberg.de/natur-und-landschaft/asiatische-hornisse-melden or via the free “My Environment App”. (Stgt Nachrichten, May 8, 2024)
Stuttgart 21 complete by the end of 2026 at the earliest
Deutsche Bahn (DB) also admits in plain language that the work on Stuttgart 21 will not be completed by the end of 2025 as previously promised. A meeting was held with representatives of the project partners from the state, city of Stuttgart and regional association. “DB is aiming to put all key elements of Stuttgart 21 – with the exception of the Gäubahn connection via the airport – into operation by the end of 2026 at the latest,” according to a written statement from Deutsche Bahn sent out after the meeting, which took place behind closed doors in March 2024. It called on “Deutsche Bahn to present a schedule for the various stages of commissioning. This must show which parts of the new infrastructure will be available and by when, and which parts of the existing infrastructure will be decommissioned and when.” (SN May 8, 2024)