Düsseldorf carnival prince pays for flights to Puerto de la Cruz
Christian Erdmann is covering the trip out of his own pocket after the Comitee Düsseldorfer Carneval again found no sponsor. The twinning with Puerto de la Cruz has now lasted 44 years, and the island's parades only start once Düsseldorf has finished on Ash Wednesday.
Johannes Bornewasser is an author, journalist and editor-in-chief of Teneriffa News. He is regarded as a recognised expert on the Canary Islands. Bornewasser is also responsible for the editorial content of the website.
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Karneval in Puerto de la Cruz ist anders als in Düsseldorf. Das werden Prinz Christian III. und seine Venetia bald selbst erfahren. Foto: Johannes Bornewasser
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The carnival friendship between Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife and Düsseldorf in the carnival-loving Rhineland has recently been severely tested. To prevent these problems from flaring up again, Düsseldorf’s Carnival Prince is now stepping into the breach in person.
Tenerife’s carnival-goers were saddened, and at times even a little offended, when Düsseldorf’s carnival-goers unilaterally suspended the friendship that had been nurtured over several decades. At the time, it was stated succinctly that they had been forced to end the regular visits for financial reasons.
For years, it had been a tradition for Düsseldorf’s carnival revellers to visit their friends in Tenerife. After all, the peak of the carnival season there only really gets underway once everything in Düsseldorf is over: on Ash Wednesday. This meant that the Düsseldorf prince and princess were able to extend their reign by a few days whilst also enjoying the sun on the Canary Islands. At the same time, the carnival parade in Puerto de la Cruz was noticeably enhanced. A win-win situation, then.
But then there was the matter of the finances. In the meantime, a sponsor had been found for the flights, and everything else had always been sorted out one way or another. When Air Berlin finally pulled out and the revellers would have had to pay for the flights themselves, they decided on a different destination for the final trip. The little scandal was complete.
Carnival in Puerto de la Cruz – four times eleven years of friendship with Düsseldorf
Two years ago, however, came the final nail in the coffin of this carnival friendship. And to ensure this doesn’t have to end again, Düsseldorf’s Carnival Prince is now footing the bill: Christian Erdmann himself is paying for his Venetia and her entourage’s flights to the Carnival in Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife. This is because the Düsseldorf Carnival Committee (CC) was once again unable to find a sponsor.
For Erdmann, however, this investment pays off on several levels. He gets to visit Tenerife, which is always a good idea; extend his term of office, which is bound to please a die-hard carnival enthusiast anyway; and celebrate a truly mad anniversary. After all, this special partnership between Puerto and Düsseldorf has now been in place for 44 years – that’s four times eleven years – and that’s die a mad number! So for carnival-goers, that’s yet another reason to celebrate.
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