The Spielmannszug (marching band) of the Turn- und Sportverein (Gymnastics and sports club) Bergedorf of 1860 e.V. (TSG), one of the largest sports clubs in Hamburg, organizes the Celebration of the Nations every other year. This being a music festival always held in the month of August for all kind of bands, such as marching, fanfare, brass and shawm bands, as well as for traditional folk music and dancing groups.
All participants are amateurs. They are playing, dancing and making music just to enjoy the spectators and listeners, generally without getting any money for their performances. They themselves have lots of fun, their only reward being the applause. For this they are willing to bear nearly all the expanses occurring, i. e. for the journey, accommodation and catering.
The idea to organize a Celebration of the Nations was born when in the beginning of the eighties the Spielmannszug of the TSG was invited to perform elsewhere, first in Germany, lateron also in other European countries.
Invitations have been followed by counter invitations resulting in establishing, deepening and multiplying friendships. The communication - and what has been and still is very important - the understanding of and for each other has been constantly improved. Without being basically intended to youth exchanges are being practised and the understanding among nations are being lived, just for the pleasure of the mutual experience and generally starting almost without any support from the outside.
Thus the Celebration of the Nations remains without ideologies and foreign influences until today and for the future. It is based completely on the joy and fun for the music, dancing, and meeting cheerful girls and boys, women and men from other cities and countries. Particularly fascinating is the different music, sometimes sounding strange to our ears, and the colorful view on the national costumes we usually rarely get to see.
In 1993 the UNICEF promoted their work, especially in Hamburg. It went without saying that this was a very good occasion for the organizers to place their own events in service of the good cause.
We would like to return the sincerity and hospitality shown to us during our journeys from Spain to the Ural and from Scandinavia to Italy. For this we need the help of as many visitors as possible, also to our entrance-free open air events, during that time.All visitors, and certainly the always welcomed guests of honour as well, will give the feeling to the participants that they have helped to make the celebration a success by contributing their musical or dancing performances.
And all participants, whether active or passive, shall have the feeling to have created and seen something great when returning to their home country or home.All members of the Spielmannszug are doing their utmost to achieve this. This cannot be done anymore without the support of others, which are helping us to accommodate and cater for the out of town-guests as well as show them around our region.
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