Bottrop.
The program for children and families at the Christmas market was very well received. There have also been positive reports about ice magic so far.
The organizers of this year’s Bottrop Christmas Magic drew a positive balance. To put this in context: the event was canceled in 2020, in 2021 a tightened 2G rule and admission controls temporarily clouded the contemplative get-together. “There was an insane drop in sales,” remembers Stephan Kückelmann from “4point events”. And 2022? “We tried to build on the successes before the pandemic,” he says, “we did quite well.”
The focus has been placed heavily on the family and children’s program. From the point of view of the organizers with success. “It was very well received.” And what is well received should remain so in the future. “We want to set ourselves apart from the Christmas markets in neighboring cities,” says Stephan Kückelmann.
Read moving stories from 2022 here:
Not only there, but in general he had heard positive feedback from the exhibitors. The toboggan run was also well received by the children. However, the organizer cannot yet say with certainty whether the boys and girls will enjoy it again next year. Kückelmann on the planning: “We definitely want to do something that the children will have fun with.” And as in the pre-Corona years, it should then again be possible for companies to spend their Christmas parties together in their own rooms on the Rathausplatz as in 2019 in the Jägerhütte, Nussknackerhütte or Christkindlhütte.
While the Christmas magic has been dismantled on the Rathausplatz, there will be a number of laps on the Berliner Platz at the Bottrop Ice Magic until January 8th. Last year, the planned ice rink fell through because there were problems with the necessary units. The organizers around Dirk Helmke are relying on a track made of artificial ice this year – probably with success. “The artificial ice is great,” says Helmke.
On November 17, Bottrop’s ice magic started. The target group are children and young people. Almost six weeks later, Helmke roughly estimates that between 5,000 and 6,000 schoolchildren have visited the ice rink so far. “That’s an unbelievable amount.” So far, school classes in particular have used the free offer at (before) noon. If you show your student ID during the holidays, you can ice skate free of charge from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Organizer: Bottrop’s ice magic is not possible without sponsors
According to Helmke, the boys and girls even wanted to go on the ice on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. In the current Christmas holidays, which last until January 6th, he expects further inflow. An example of this: No sooner had the ice rink reopened at 11 a.m. on the Tuesday after the festive period, according to Helmke, “six or seven children were already on the ice”. Therefore, his interim conclusion is: “We are very satisfied.”
He does not want to answer the question of whether there will be a second Bottrop ice magic in 2023. Only so much: “This is not a cheap business.” It was a high investment. He emphasizes that such actions are not possible in Bottrop without a large number of sponsors. Almost 40 of them are listed on the in-house website alone. Among them was the Vereinte Volksbank, which made it possible for children and young people to skate free of charge. Helmke concludes: “Next year we have to see whether all the sponsors are on board again.”
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