Testing, meeting, dancing: lots of program apart from the concerts
13.03.2025 – Many people know the Stadthalle Offenbach primarily from concerts and shows: the municipal event venue is full of people and shakes with loud beats. However, the "Home of Rock'n'Roll" is enormously versatile - and sometimes quiet as a mouse.
On this day, where the bass is usually booming, the most you can hear is a throat clearing. 320 candidates sit at individual tables and work their way through the medical test with concentration. Twice a year, Heidelberg University hosts this selection process in the Stadthalle. "The atmosphere is naturally very tense," says Silke Simon, commercial event manager at the Stadthalle and Capitol Theater. "Many are hoping for a good result that will increase their chances of getting into medical school. Some call days in advance to ask for directions and parking options." Together with Event Manager Vanessa Lepszy, Silke Simon is responsible for these special events, among other things. "Tests and final exams are regularly held here, including those from the Offenbach Chamber of Industry and Commerce, for example," says Vanessa Lepszy.
Large companies book hall for company meetings
Bookings outside of concerts play an important role. "Thanks to the many different events, our hall becomes known to a different audience - often far beyond the city limits," says Birgit von Hellborn, Managing Director of Stadthalle and Capitol. "It is also important for large local companies that need space for their company meetings with more than 1,000 employees. Last year, we hosted 22 such events of various sizes." Regular customers at Stadtwerke Offenbach's event venue include Telekom, Deutsche Post and, for more than 20 years, GKN Automotive Offenbach. Once or twice a year, 800 to 1,300 employees of the respective companies come to the large hall on Waldstrasse to discuss their internal issues.
The stalls in the Stadthalle are also ideal for dancing - and not only the concert guests of all ages who attended the sold-out performances by Beatsteaks and Badmómzjay, Ski Aggu and Sepultura in 2024 know this. Traditionally, Offenbach's Weiss dance school and a number of schools invite guests to their graduation balls in the Stadthalle Offenbach. Anyone who arrives at the dance school without the prescribed festive attire must borrow a tie at the entrance - and entry in jeans is strictly forbidden.
City councillors discuss via live stream
The program in the multifunctional hall also includes meetings, Christmas parties and, since the pandemic, the city council meeting. In June 2020, the committee met in the town hall for the first time, as the necessary coronavirus distances could be maintained there. Since the renovation of the meeting room in the town hall, which is still ongoing today, began afterwards, the city councillors have met up to ten times a year in Waldstrasse since then - and the interested public has been able to follow the meeting via live stream since February 2022. The team on site always has to ensure a clear view of the lectern through the seating.
The next meeting of the city councillors is scheduled for March 20 - and after that, the Stadthalle team will have to ensure a spontaneous change of scene from the seated event to the unseated concert: the next evening, March 21, US rapper Destroy Lonely will bring his enormous dynamism to the stage. This will be followed by the Rock Sympho Show with a large orchestra on April 2 and hard rock legend Godsmack on April 5. Real live experiences with a goosebump factor are guaranteed.
