Almost 15 months after after the cancellation of its original 2020 event, the PRG Live Entertainment Award (LEA) returned in a smaller, socially distanced format on Tuesday night (15 June) to belatedly recognise excellence in the German live entertainment sector in the pre-coronavirus era.

Taking place at the 1,200-capacity Gibson Club in Frankfurt instead of the usual Festhalle (13,500-cap.), the delayed 15th LEA saw the industry celebrate a “small, hybrid LEA”, said Jens Michow, executive president of industry association BDKV and head of the LEA committee, who welcomed guests to the club. “Although the incidence [of Covid-19] is in drastic decline” in Germany, Michow said, “unfortunately the industry still has little hope of a return to normal. So it’s all the more important that we are able to show a sign of life [today].”

Awards were given in 15 categories, with Wizard Promotions founder Ossy Hoppe recognised with the lifetime achievement award, which was presented by his son, Oliver. Hoppe, who celebrated his 70th birthday last year, received video messages of congratulations from Robert Plant, Sting, Scorpions, Kiss and Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan.

“Hopefully, after a ban on events for almost one and a half years, the LEA will kick off a certain hope in our industry again,” said Hoppe, “provided that politicians start to take notice of us and our [event] concepts.”

Dieter Semmelmann of Semmel Concerts received the award for arena tour of the year, for its 2019 tour with Sarah Connor, while Peter Rieger Konzertagentur earned organiser of the year. Global Concerts’ Andrea Blahetek-Hauzenberger and Christian Diekmann picked up the award for concert of the year (for their event with LaBrassBanda and Seiler und Speer on Königsplatz in Munich) and Lanxess Arena in Cologne won hall/arena venue of the year.

“It is good for the whole, long-suffering industry to be seen and honoured”

Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion won two awards – show of the year and cooperation of the year – while FKP Scorpio was honoured for Mucke bei die Fische, its Hamburg showcase festival.

Accepting Semmel’s award, Semmelmann said: “We are delighted, especially for Sarah Connor, her band and her crew, about this award. Nevertheless, we accept it with mixed feelings. For almost a year and a half, we have been postponing the additional concerts planned as part of this musically and visually outstanding concert tour and have to disappoint the fans.”

“We sincerely hope that we can hold the few concerts that are still planned for August and September 2021,” he added.

Frankfurt city councillor Markus Frank – who picked up a special ‘silver’ award, along with Messe Frankfurt, for the people in the city who make the awards possible – concluded: “We were very happy to help launch the ‘little LEA’. It is an important signal to the outside world that Frankfurt am Main is able to host events such as the Live Entertainment Award even in difficult times, and under extraordinary conditions to provide a worthy setting,

“We are very pleased that the LEA at the Gibson Club met with a great response. In particular, the people who who received the award in their respective category did an extraordinary job in times like these. It is good for the whole, long-suffering industry to be seen and honoured. We have also lit the fuse with the ‘little LEA’ for future big red-carpet events […] in the wonderful Frankfurt Festhalle.”

In German, a full list of winners is available from the PRG LEA website.

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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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The 14th PRG Live Entertainment Awards (LEA) take place on 1 April in Frankfurt, recognising the best in the German live music industry across 15 categories.

The annual awards celebrate concert and show organisers, managers, agents and theatre operators in German-speaking countries.

Around 1,400 guests are expected to attend the awards ceremony in Frankfurt’s Festhalle. Performances on the night will come from pop and soul singer Stefanie Heinzmann, Neue Deutsche Welle (German new wave) singer Nena, actor Kiefer Sutherland and singer-songwriter Mike Singer.

“It is a huge honour for me to be able to perform and present a prize at such an important awards show,” says Singer. “The LEA is something very close to my heart because it honours some very fundamental areas of our everyday musical lives.”

In the stadium tour of the year category, Wizard Promotions are up for Iron Maiden’s Legacy of the Beast tour, whereas Ed Sheeran’s ÷ concert tour has earned last year’s promoter of the year winner FKP Scorpio a nomination. Kikis Kleiner Tourneeservice (KKT) agency is the final nominee, for the Laune der Natour tour by Düsseldorf punk-rock group Die Toten Hosen.

Concert tours by German acts dominate the field of nominees in the arena tour of the year category. Four Artists Booking, Roland Temme, DEAG Concerts and Dirk Becker Entertainment in collaboration with Abenteuerland Music Management are included in the jury’s selection.

“The LEA is something very close to my heart because it honours some very fundamental areas of our everyday musical lives”

Semmel Concerts, winner of both concert hall tour and the jury prize in 2017, is also nominated for bringing the Kelly Family’s We Got Love Tour back to big venues.

Among the concert of the year nominees is FKP Scorpio for Burt Bacharach’s first-ever German concert. Opus, MCT and the European Astronaut Centre are nominated collectively for the Kraftwerk concert at Jazzopen in Stuttgart, which featured a broadcast from astronaut Alexander Gerst in outer space.

FKP Scorpio, DEAG Concerts and Wizard Promotions are also among the nominees for indoor tour of the year. Elsewhere, Airbeat One, Parookaville and Nature one are all up for festival of the year award, with a thematic focus on EDM.

No nominations are made for the organiser of the year, artist/newcomer of the year or artist manager/ agent of the year categories, or for the jury and lifetime achievement awards.

The main partners of the LEA are event technology supplier Production Resource Group (PRG), Prolight and Sound, Musikmesse Frankfurt, ticket distributor CTS Eventim and the city of Frankfurt am Main.

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The PRG Live Entertainment Awards (LEAs) returned to Frankfurt for 12th time on Monday, honouring the best and brightest in the German live industry.

Accolades were given in 15 categories, including promoter of the year, which went to FKP Scorpio; stadium tour of the year, which was awarded to Think Big for Udo Lindenberg’s Keine Panik! tour; arena tour of the year, presented to Wizard Promotions and Zucchero Fornaciari for the Black Cat world tour; and concert hall tour of the year and the jury prize, both of which went to Semmel Concerts, for Niedeckens BAP’s Jubiläumstour tour and PxP Festival, respectively.

“For 12 years we have been honouring the outstanding event achievements of the past year with the LEAs,” says Jens Michow, producer of the awards ceremony and president of German promoters’ association BDV.

“Twenty-sixteen was a particularly difficult year – with increased security risks , hurricane-like storms, torrential rains and violent thunderstorms that presented the industry with significant challenges – [so] I am all the more pleased by the level of professionalism with which these were overcome.”

A full list of winners is below:

Stadium tour of the year
Udo Lindenberg, Keine Panik! tour 2016 (Think Big Event- und Veranstaltungs)

Arena tour of the year
Zucchero Fornaciari, Black Cat tour 2016 (Wizard Promotions)

Concert hall tour of the year
Niedeckens BAP, Jubiläumstour tour 2016 (Semmel Concerts)

Club tour of the year
Max Giesinger, Der Junge, der rennt tour 2016 (Karsten Jahnke Konzertdirektion)

Festival of the year
OpenAir St Gallen

Concert of the year
David Gilmour, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria (Barracuda Music)

Show of the year
Kaltenberger Ritterturnier (Ritterturnier Kaltenberg Veranstaltungs)

Promoter of the year
FKP Scorpio

Artist development of the year
Popakademie Baden-Württemberg

Manager/agent of the year
Esteban de Alcázar, Sector3 Management

Local promoter of the year
Handwerker Promotion, Unna

Club of the year
Capitol, Hanover

Concert hall/arena of the year
Commerzbank Arena, Frankfurt

Jury prize
PxP Festival, P x P Embassy/Semmel Concerts

Lifetime achievement award
Dieter Weidenfeld

A list of 2016 PRG LEA winners is here.

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