Applause Award: Prizes for clubs and event organizers

Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) has presented 90 live music venues and concert organizers from all over Germany with the Applause Award for their commitment to promoting cultural diversity. The awards were presented in six categories at the Volkstheater in Rostock, with prize money totaling around 1.6 million euros. This makes the Applaus Award, presented for the eleventh time, one of the most highly endowed cultural prizes in Germany.

In the categories "Best live music programs", "Best live music venues" and "Best small venues and concert series", one venue was also chosen as the main prize winner in each case: "saxstall" in Pohrsdorf (Saxony) and "Bahnhof Kötzting" in Bad Kötzting (Bavaria) as well as "VL / Ludwigstrasse 37" in Halle an der Saale (Saxony-Anhalt). The only winner from MV is "Helgas Stadtpalast" in Rostock in the "Best Live Music Venues" category. Prizes were also awarded in the categories "Awareness", "Inclusion" and "Sustainability".

"Clubs are not just cultural venues - they are also social places that provide for exchange and creativity and are indispensable for the development of subculture. This is where stories are told, dreams are realized and friendships are made," said Roth. "Clubs create spaces for diversity and experimentation, where different genres come together and new sounds can emerge - for our society."

The Applaus Award has been organized by the Initiative Musik since 2013 with the involvement of the Bundeskonferenz Jazz and the LiveMusikKommission association. The Initiative Musik realizes the program award with project funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. The 90 winners received prize money of between 10,000 and 45,000 euros, depending on the category.