GERMAN FETISH BALL has abandoned 2021 to return in May 2022 (photo: TonyM, GFB 2019)

Mere days after Torture Garden successfully hosted it first full-scale London club night since lockdowns began, the German Fetish Ball announced cancellation of its tentative September 2021 return to Berlin.

In a statement last Wednesday (Aug 18), GFB organiser René of Xklusiv said that following the city’s announcement a day earlier of a new ban on dance events in clubs, “we see no point in further wishing and hoping”.

September’s proposed GFB dates have therefore been scrapped, and Xklusiv is now putting all its energy into “a big return in 2022”. Next year’s event will occupy the traditional Ascension Day Weekend slot (May 25-29) already set for the 2022 GFB.

The 2022 GFB programme is expected to follow the established five-day format.

This means the Ball itself will be on Saturday May 28, with — also quitting their September slots — FetishGuerilla Revolution on Friday 27, German Fetish Fair on Fri 27 and Sat 28 and the usual array of supporting events throughout the week.

But why has this ban suddenly been imposed when vaccination rates are looking promising and hospitalisation numbers are low? Says René:

“German politics struggle with a perspective for the near future. While some states are opening their clubs and discos (at least for those vaccinated, tested or recovered), the Mayor of Berlin said it is not the time for lifting restrictions.”

René adds that all GFB tickets for the cancelled 2020 and 2021 events remain valid for 2022, but can be refunded if the 2022 dates don’t work for you.

Uncertainty in Berlin

René’s mention of German politics alludes to the upcoming election on September 26. It is assumed that those in power view a full re-opening of the capital’s clubs in election month as a political risk not worth taking.

Mark Clewes, co-host of Torture Garden Berlin — the first edition of which was held in February 2020 just before the first lockdown — thinks the election is certainly a factor.

TG BERLIN, launched Feb 2020, hopes to return in Dec 2021 (photo: @talie_eigerland, 2020)

Berlin-based Brit Mark and his team were about to announce a date for the second TG Berlin in the first half of December when the new ban arrived.

He is hopeful that the ban will have run its course well before the date he had in mind for TG Berlin/2. But he also has another slot pencilled in for February 2022, which is expected to happen whether or not the December date goes ahead.

Read more of his personal take on the current Berlin situation on Page 2 of this article.

In the wake of the new Berlin restrictions, confusing messages began emerging from the city’s nightlife scene about clubs challenging the ruling and winning, about KitKatClub “defying” the ban, and more.

Initially it certainly looked like KitKat would still be hosting Wasteland’s Berlin Underground 10^th Anniversary edition on October 2.

But by this Monday (23), the Wasteland Berlin event had been cancelled and rescheduled for October 1, 2022. This suggests that even if Berlin clubs had been trying to get one of their occasional mass protests off the ground, any such attempt had failed on this occasion.

Elsewhere in Germany

Germany’s federal system means that regional legislatures can set different rules from those announced for Berlin.

OBSCENE, first of Germany’s autumn fairs, still set to take place near Stuttgart on Sept 10-12

And it’s certainly true, currently, that several big regional fetish events set for the autumn months are still happening, with no evidence of anything being said by their promoters about possible rescheduling.

This could be because of local differences in covid regulations. But it could also be because the events in question are all retail fetish fairs not covered by partying rules.

However, all Germany’s big daytime retail fairs do normally also have parties in their