Nuremberg's Lord Mayor Marcus König is already eagerly anticipating the Kirchentag: "The anticipation is great, for the events, the church services, the debates - but above all for the people visiting our city." Janine Rolfsmeyer's pulse is also higher than usual: "We're in the middle of the final spurt." She is responsible for the entire organizational area on the DEKT board and has already been in close exchange with the city of Nuremberg, the Free State of Bavaria and the Evangelical Lutheran Church since 2018.
Mrs. Rolfsmeyer, what can Nuremberg expect from the Protestant Kirchentag and what does organizing such an event entail?
We are looking forward to 100,000 people who want to celebrate, discuss and tackle issues together. 2,000 individual events are planned - from small workshops to large concerts, everything is included. We can count on the great support of the Lord Mayor, the city administration, the police and regional organizations and institutions.
The organization of a Kirchentag begins many years before it actually takes place. We are already in the planning stages for 2025 and 2027, but our current focus is of course on Nuremberg 2023. Around 100 people are now employed by the Kirchentag. They organize, for example, the program, financing, security concept, shared accommodations for the participants and everything else that is needed for a major event. In addition, there are around 5,000 volunteers who will be helping out at the Kirchentag and whose efforts have to be coordinated.
Since the beginning of January, the first event posters have been hanging in the city, which of course motivates us immensely. From March 16, the complete Kirchentag program will be available at kirchentag.de/en/programme.
