The 14th edition of the German Live Entertainment Awards (LEA) took place at the Frankfurt Festhalle last night (1 April), with theatrical producer Mehr-BB picking two awards for best show and best concert hall or arena.

Awards were presented across 15 categories to concert and show organisers, managers, agents and venue operators from German-speaking countries.

“The LEA is a red carpet event in our city,” says Frankfurt city councillor Markus Frank. “It is an honour for us to celebrate the top-class LEA gala in our traditional festival hall.”

The ceremony was presented for the eighth time by broadcast journalist Ingo Nommsen, with performances from Kiefer Sutherland, Stefanie Heinzmann, Mike Singer and electronic swing jazz band DelDap.

The ensemble of hit musical Starlight Express also performed on the night. Mehr-BB Entertainment received the award for show of the year for the musical, which has run for 30 consecutive years in the Starlight Express Theatre in Bochum.

Neue Deutsche Welle singer Nena closed the ceremony, who won Wizard Promotions the concert hall tour of the year award with her Nothing Missed tour.

“Live entertainment is now the leading entertainment market [in Germany] and the most highly consumed cultural product”

“In Germany, around five billion euros are spent each year on attending music events and other live entertainment,” reports Professor Jens Michow, president of the Federal Association of the Concerts and Events Industry (BDKV) and producer of the awards ceremony.

“With those figures, live entertainment is now the leading entertainment market and the most highly consumed cultural product [in the country],” adds Michow.

Hamburg-based FKP Scorpio picked up the biggest touring category award, winning the prize for the best stadium tour of the year for Ed Sheeran’s ÷ tour and Semmel concerts earned the arena tour of the year award for the Kelly Family We Got Love tour.

Wacken Open Air founders Thomas Jensen and Holger Hübner won the lifetime achievement award for their work developing the largest heavy-metal festival in the world, receiving the award from German rock band Scorpions and comedian Matze Knop.

Jazzopen organiser Opus, along with MCT Agency and the European Astronaut Centre, won the award for concert of the year. The trio had collaborated on a special Kraftwerk concert in Stuttgart which saw astronaut Alexander Gerst broadcast live from space.

Live Nation won promoter of the year, whereas the homegrown promoter prize went to Vaddi Concerts.

A full list of winners can be found below and a round-up of nominees is available here.

Stadium tour of the year
Ed Sheeran ÷ tour (FKP Scorpio)

Arena tour of the year
The Kelly Family, We Got Love tour (Semmel Concerts)

Concert hall tour of the year
Nena, Nothing Missed tour (Wizard Promotions)

Club tour of the year
Bosse, Everything is now tour (Undercover)

Festival of the year
Nature One, Pydna

Concert of the year
Kraftwerk + Special Guest Dr Alexander Gerst, Stuttgart (Opus Festival, MCT Agentur GmbH and EAC Köln)

Show of the year
30 Years Starlight Express, Bochum (Mehr-BB Entertainment)

Promoter of the year
Live Nation

Local promoter of the year
Vaddi Concerts

Concert hall/ arena of the year
Mehr Theater, Hamburg (Mehr-BB Entertainment)

Artist development of the year
Timo Birth

Manager/ agent of the year
Johannes Jakob Hofmann, Jay Music and Selective Artists

Jury prize
Jamel rockt den Förster (Grünes Forum Selbstverwaltung Förderverein)

Lifetime achievement award
Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen

Collaboration of the year
Aida-Schiffstaufe with David Guetta (Hannover Concerts, KG Betriebsgesellschaft, Aida Cruises, Four Artists Booking and Meyer Werft)

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Hamburg-based promoter A.S.S. Concerts has opened a new branch office in Dusseldorf, in partnership with local company Mehr-BB Entertainment.

The Dusseldorf office – located at the headquarters of Mehr-BB, which specialises in promoting and producing theatrical shows – expands A.S.S.’s network beyond its headquarters in Hamburg and an existing branch office in Berlin.

According to A.S.S. Concerts, the new joint venture will organise “the best concerts in the Rhine-Ruhr market” by leveraging “the skills and capabilities of Mehr-BB Entertainment […] for marketing its own concerts and shows, as well as partners’.” Mehr operates three venues in the region: Musical Dome (1,640-cap.) in Cologne, Capitol Theater (1,750-cap.) in Dusseldorf and the Starlight Express Theatre (1,650-cap.) in Bochum.

“The Rhineland and Ruhr area is a very important location for concerts and shows in Germany”

Christian Waaga, formerly of SSC’s Rhein-Konzerte, will lead booking for the new office.

A.S.S. CEO Michael Bisping says: “NRW [North Rhine-Westphalia] and especially the Rhineland and Ruhr area is a very important location for concerts and shows in Germany, so it was only logical that after our first successful shows in Dusseldorf we would look to find a local partner.”

The company’s managing director, Dirk Gehrmann, who becomes Dusseldorf office manager, adds: “I am particularly pleased that we have found – in addition to the existing know-how of colleagues from Hamburg and Dusseldorf – an experienced staff member in the form of Christian Waaga, who is very familiar with the production of concerts and comedy events in the region.”

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