Germany: Pop-up Leisure Parks as Temporary Alternative to Traditional Funfairs

According to the current corona protection measures by the German government, public events will still be prohibited throughout the country through 31 October 2020. Therefore, numerous traditional folk festivals have been cancelled. Some German cities and municipalities have now decided to approve so-called “pop-up leisure parks“. The concept is to enable showmen and fairground stall owners to install their attractions and facilities on a designated area, which – just like a classic amusement park – is accessible for guests via a central entrance, tickets need to be purchased in advance. These mobile funfair installations are a small silver lining especially for showmen businesses, as most of them have not been able to generate any income since Christmas.

Since 26 June, the “DüsselLand“ funfair has been welcoming guests on the grounds of the Düsseldorf exhibition centre (Messe Düsseldorf). In compliance with current corona protection measures, rides and typical treats are offered here. Tickets to the “mini leisure park“ are valid for a limited time slot of three hours. There are also separate entrances and exits, marked walking paths and distance markings on the ground. To enjoy the more than 20 rides the wearing of a face mask is required. Further pop-up amusement parks with similar corona measures have also been built up in Dortmund (FunDOmino), in Soest (Schlosspark Erwitte), in Koblenz (Schängel Land) and in Eschweiler (IndePark).

The Taunus Wunderland theme park is also supporting regional showmen with its campaign “Schausteller hilft Schausteller“ (Showman helps showmen), as is also the Allgäu Skyline Park (cf. EAP news of 26 May 2020). This campaign enables the operation of  the “Circus Circus“ ride in the Wunderland during the Hessian summer holidays, for example. (eap)