Chronology of the events surrounding the
Tropical Tango Festival 2018:
3/19/18:
Appointment request (by the responsible city of Lorch) for a tropical tango preliminary meeting with suggested dates by email.
29.3.18:
Date suggestion 03.05.18 is confirmed by the association.
10.4.18:
Invitation to the preliminary meeting TT 2018 on Thursday, May 3rd, 2018, 3 p.m.
2.5.18:
Sending the 2018 security concept to the city of Lorch.
3.5.18:
Preliminary meeting TT 2018 Ordnungsamt Lorch.
At the request of the police and the public order office, the TT should adopt the security concept of the "Better Than Nix" "(BAN) festival. The police want to take care of the transmission. This takes a long time. It turns out (as was to be expected) that the BAN is organized completely differently, e.g. free entry, without a campsite. The security concept has to be revised considerably. In addition, there will be extreme climatic conditions in 2018. Where and what exactly can be set up will be decided two weeks before the start of the festival, as it depends on the harvest of the surrounding fields.
23.5.18:
At the request of the Rüdesheim police: Mail with two digital pictures, in a format that cannot be opened - until 04.06.2018 contact person on vacation. Another concept proposal that can be edited will not reach Kloster 9 eV until the end of June 18.
5/24/18:
Personal initiative = email to "" BAN "" with the request for a Word or PDF document instead of a GIF image.
21.6.18:
Receipt of the security concept of Better Than Nix - Festivals as a PDF document by email.
29.6.18:
Inauguration of the new head of the public order office of the city of Lorch on July 1st, 2018. Takeover of regulatory administration from the previously responsible manager.
7/3/18:
Complaint security concept. Threat of conditions if the allegedly missing security concept is not available within two days. In the run-up, the main focus was on a specific communication plan that should be similar to that of the BAN Festival. However, this is not realistic in the same form for the Tropical Tango Festival.
07/10/18:
Presentation of the delay in details of the site planning due to weather conditions / climatic uncertainty (wheat harvest). Formation of concrete teams partly still in the making, because work on the Fusion Festival for the purpose of pre-financing.
07/12/18:
Transmission of a safety concept with a concrete description of which systems are currently not available due to variables that are still unclear, such as harvesting the fields. Infrastructure plans were based on the well-known plans of previous years and were therefore largely known.
07/13/18:
Forwarding of the security concept by the head of the Lorch public order office to the responsible offices / crisis team.
07/20/2018:
Requirement to supplement the safety concept - the district fire inspector puts the civil protection and rescue service in Bad Schwalbach at the top as the competent authority for fire protection. Due to the unsuitable software used, further change requests remain hidden.
Change request of the police headquarters / police station Rüdesheim: Police do not have to be on site, as the event has always been peaceful in recent years. In addition, an increased risk of forest fires is pointed out here for the first time.
07/23/18:
Requirement to supplement the safety concept - medical service.
07/27/18:
Submission of the supplemented security concept. The revised SK TT 2018 is available in its entirety. Only the phone number list cannot yet be made available because the crew has not yet been finalized and the SIM cards cannot yet be activated and assigned. In principle, all site plans had been available digitally at least since 2017.
06:57 h: Confirmation of receipt of the revised security concept.
09:33 h: Request for additions and suggestions for changes. Please reply by 7/30/2018.
07/29/18:
Start of tropical tango development.
Change requests from the medical service with regard to helper occupancy, vehicles and shift times.
07/30/18:
Daily routine:
14:00 h:
Distribution of fire extinguishers from the club's property to the festival construction sites.
17:00 h:
Delivery of 32 fire extinguishers. Motorsport club Ransel.
20:00 h:
Plowing / plowing the arable land to reduce the risk of fire.
07/31/18:
Daily routine:
02:44 h:
Updated site plans by email to the head of the Lorch Public Order Office.
03:45 h:
Sending of the adapted site plans in the appendix as well as communication plan and festival program.
11:19 h:
Submission of the improved security concept.
21:00 h:
A fire protection emergency meeting of the festival crew is called. Raising awareness of the topic of fire protection. Briefing on fire extinguishers.
21:30 h:
Collecting the last loose straw on the entire festival site. Possible fire hazards should be minimized.
History of the illegally canceled Tropical Tango 2018
08/01/2018:
08/02/18:
Daily routine:
04:49 h:
Once again the completely revised TT 2018 safety concept - including current changes with regard to the constant weather conditions - request for support and a constant fire engine from the Lorch fire brigade on site.
09:00 h:
Telephone inquiries from the head of the Lorch Public Order Office, whether everything was in order, whether she had received the documents and forwarded them accordingly. The leader then announced that everything was okay. No notice, let alone an invitation to the later crisis meeting to the exclusion of the organizer.
11:00 h:
Supplementary annex to the TT 2018 security concept, which also sends updated telephone lists / communication plan by email.
10-11: 45 h:
Meeting between the regulatory office, police, fire brigade, disaster fire protection RTK, telephone conversation with forester. Without organizer, medical service, Wollmerschieder fire brigade. The organizer, Kloster 9 eV, was not even informed about this meeting, on the contrary, it was excluded. Prohibition of the TT 2018 - Argument: largely undocumented conflagration in Idstein in the previous week. Only motorway embankment fire on July 13th. recorded in Idstein during fire brigade operations in Idstein. This justification later turned out to be inadequate in court, and the prohibition order was therefore without a legal basis, materially illegal.
12:01 h:
Telephone cancellation (by the city of Lorch) of the TT 2018.
12:02 h:
Cancellation (by the city) Lorch by email of the TT 2018.
12:45 h:
Personal interview with the head of the regulatory office in the Lorch regulatory office.
13:05 h:
Krist & Deller law firm in Koblenz takes over the legal representation of the Tropen Tango Festival.
13:20 h:
Appointment in the antechamber of the mayor of the city of Lorch with the request for an appointment with the deputy mayor, since the mayor is on vacation. Leave the telephone number of the first chairman of the association with an urgent request for a call back.
13:40 h:
Random meeting of the association's board in Ransel on the street with the district forester. Information that he was only questioned by telephone about the cancellation of the previous meeting and that he was not given any documents to view. 2 other forest workers present.
13:43 h:
Publication of the "rejection" on the Facebook page of the city of Lorch and a request on the city of Lorch's website not to attend the festival.
Shortly afterwards, the city of Lorch repeated the request on their Facebook page not to go to the festival.
13:55 h:
The deputy mayor of the city of Lorch left a voice message on the 1st chairman's mailbox, stating that he could still be reached until 2:45 p.m.
15:00 h:
Establishment of a 30 meter clearance area / firebreak to the upper part of the forest on the campsite. The only directly adjacent forest area.
16:30 h:
Start of research for fire engine and fire engine alternatives.
20:30 h:
Large meeting with approx. 120 crew members and helpers, current information is explained and discussed.
21:15 h:
The first 15m3 of extinguishing water from private reservoirs are organized. By prohibiting the fire brigade support on the part of Lorch, access to water from the public network was also withdrawn.
Daily routine :
10:30 h:
Submission of the complaint against the prohibition at the Administrative Court of Wiesbaden.
11:00 h:
A police officer stops his car on the country road, reverses, gets out, photographs guests in a line of cars without prior approval. The Lorch water master is also in the car. When spoken to, a discussion develops. Policeman cites the following fictitious example: Only one person leaves a soda bottle on the embankment, on the way home at night, everything is on fire.
11:30 h:
Guests in the line of cars are verbally abused by drivers passing by. Quote: "I'll make sure that the festival doesn't take place."
12:00 h:
5000 pocket ashtrays / PET blanks are picked up.
14:53 h:
Rejection of the application to cancel the immediate execution by VG Wiesbaden. Complaint VGH Kassel.
In addition: - There is information that the 1st city council has announced that the campsite should be cleared by the police. In the course of the day numerous media reports on radio, internet and TV about the situation of the tropical tango. An eviction is announced. The festival is insulted below the belt and facts are misrepresented. The source of the information is unclear.
- 18 qm3 water transporter is brought.
- First guests leave again due to the unclear situation and the contradicting information that is disseminated through various media. The media announcement keeps other guests from leaving on Friday even after the decision of the OVG Kassel. The visitors present at the campsite fear that they will be victims of the use of police force.
- During the course of the day, the police officer calls the campsite owner twice over the phone to "throw" the campers off the site. They refuse to do so.
- Approx. 350 fire warning signs are sawed, sprayed and put up.
- Information leaflets are printed, laminated and distributed throughout the site at regular intervals, clearly visible.
16:30 h:
The “water” crisis team meets with local farmers, master craftsmen, sewage treatment technicians, firefighters and the festival organization. The aim is to organize 300 square meters from private reservoirs. The responsible municipality of Lorch continues to deny access to the water supplies.
- Collection of fire brigade B-couplings from the Schwälbchen company; Material support by fire brigades not approved by the responsible municipality.
17:00 h:
Large submersible pumps and hoses are privately organized by surrounding craft businesses.
17:45 h:
The first water reservoirs arrive at the festival.
18:00 h:
Start of the clearing of a quarter of the camping area by the volunteer crew in order to build a 30 meter firebreak to all the windbreak hedges.
18:00 h:
E-mail to all artists with current information about what is happening on site. Some of the artists / bands booked long in advance (contractually and therefore subject to a fee) cancel their performance due to the uncertain situation or reserve the right not to come.
19:00 h:
First sprinkling of water on the campsite.
19:30 h:
90 more fire extinguishers arrive. Target number of fire extinguishers
Safety concept exceeded three times.
20:00 h:
It is decided to close two areas (Dubhang and Wandelwald).
20:30 h:
Large crisis meeting with the construction team; 180 people.
21:00 h:
Contractors bring more water with articulated lorries.
22:00 h:
Police from Wiesbaden appear surprisingly at the entrance of the campsite and try to visit the site without communication.
22:00 h:
Wollmerschieder fire brigade comes to guard the campsite. Shift until the next day at 09:30. Because of the short-term nature of the mission without the usual logistical support with tent, etc. This "measure" was not agreed in any way with the organizer. The festival took care of the physical well-being of the firefighters.
22:00 h:
Police Landesdirektion Hessen West calls on Facebook not to appear for the tropical tango.
22:30 h:
Internal crisis discussion of the main organization group of the TT on how to proceed.
23:00 h:
Rüdesheim police appear with two officers. They insist that the Rüdesheim police have turned off the fire brigade. Other rumors say that the mayor of Lorch instructed the Wollmerschieder fire brigade to be present on the campsite during the night.
08/03/18:
Daily routine:
02:00 h:
Drawing of the updated security concept, compilation of materials for the OVGH Kassel. Innovations: construction fences, water reservoirs, cleared parcels, etc.
09:00 h:
Information material such as photos and a new site plan with all fire extinguishers, water tanks and much more will be forwarded to the lawyers commissioned.
10:00 h:
Smoking islands, opening of construction fences for escape routes.
11:00:
25 qm3 extinguishing sand are acquired.
12:00 h:
An inquiry is made for a further 400 meters of site fence and the delivery is agreed.
13:00 h:
Mail from the city of Lorch to the local advisory council with a misrepresentation of the events.
13:00 h:
Radio FFH publishes an article in which the evacuation of Tropical Tango is announced and the festival is repeatedly defamed. Character assassination is in the room.
13:30 h:
Telephone call with the fire brigades. Inquiry / request whether an exercise can be held with all crew members as soon as the court has given permission to hold the event.
14:00 h:
Private fire brigade arrives from Recklinghausen with two fire engines.
14:30 h:
Fire protection exercise with the crew on the field, led by a member of the Espenschied volunteer fire brigade and the TT fire protection team.
15:05 h:
Notification by lawyers: Decision VGH Kassel in favor of the Tropen Tango Festival. Event ban turns out to be illegal in the urgent procedure.
15:15 h:
Annunciation to the crew. Spontaneous “La Hola” from the festival site to the end of the campsite. Only now can some of the construction sites resume work, drinks and food can be delivered. The considerable work backlog caused by the "cancellation" can no longer be made up at this point in time.
15:15 h:
Late entry of guests. Hardly possible to disseminate the information accordingly / to inform all guests at this point in time. Reluctant start and absence of about 1000 guests.
15:16 h:
Public order office announces controls.
19:00 h:
Police officer accompanied by four police officers and the Lorch fire brigade, among other things, to check the fire protection measures. He wants to visit the festival site with all police officers and escorts in uniform. With the intervention of the board of directors and the lawyer, the inspection takes place with only one of the police officers. When the lawyer wants to speak to the police officer, he refuses to make the phone call. Call the responsible deputy mayor - no connection, no callback. Two calls to the mayor - spoken on mailbox - no callback - no cause. Telephone conversations with responsible politicians who want to try to calm the escalating situation.
A police officer checks the area, fixes himself on 2 fire extinguishers, left behind by the superstructure, with an expired TÜV. Although these are not part of the fire protection equipment at all. He refrains from checking the closed D'Up slope, WandelWald and the cultivated field.
20:00 h:
Local fire departments can officially start their work. Provision of infrastructure (e.g. tents) and inspection of the site must be made up for as soon as possible. Unnecessary delay by the relevant authorities. At the highest forest fire level, the planned fire safety service for 2500 people was delayed by several hours.
8/4/18:
17:00 h:
Call on Facebook that tickets are still available and that many visitors are missing.
08/16/18:
Inquiry VG Wiesbaden whether the administrative procedure will be declared as completed.
08/24/18:
Attorney of the city of Lorch applies for a lawsuit from August 3, 2018 to be rejected. City of Lorch claims by means of a lawyer on August 24th: the ban on the event was based on an allegedly incomplete security concept, not as previously claimed because of the risk of forest fire.
08/28/18:
Kloster 9 eV declares the legal action before the Administrative Court of Wiesbaden dated August 3, 2018 to be over.
18.09.18:
Decision VG Wiesbaden. Setting the main proceedings. Half division of the court costs (express proceedings OVG Kassel assumption of costs by the city of Lorch).
1/15/19:
Complaint VG Wiesbaden. Amount in dispute.
Spendenkonto:
Kloster 9 e.V.
Rheingauer Volksbank
IBAN: DE95 5109 1500 0000 1015 40
BIC: GENODE51RGG