The heat is on at the Westend Party

The “biggest semester start party ever held in Bielefeld”, as the Neue Westfälische reported, was organised by the campus radio project Uni-Funk (now Hertz 87.9) and the mobile phone provider Mobilcom. Three DJs got the party going on the dance floors, but many guests, especially students, were annoyed. In particular, the AStA (student union), on a flyer of 11 May, denounced the “commercialisation of student festival culture” and criticised the heavy-handedness of the security staff. Students, staff and visitors were denied access to toilets, library, lockers and offices, in some cases by physical force.

The Uni-Funk responded a week later with an unreserved apology. “The proceeds should, and will go towards the Campus-radio project i.e. the establishment of a university radio station with its own frequency and a daily live programme.” The Uni-Funk admitted that the newly introduced entrance fee should have been printed on the posters that announced the event and that the security staff could have been recruited with more care. To avoid a repeat of this unfortunate episode, and to safeguard future parties of this size, representatives of Uni-Funk, the University management and the AStA met up before each of the subsequent Westend Party events to discuss them.

Subsequently and until 10 April 2014, the annual Westend Party took place at the start of each semester in the Main University Hall. With up to 10,000 guests, it was one of the largest indoor parties in Germany. After a four-year interruption, the Westend Party brand was brought back to life again in February 2018. During the renovation of the University’s main building, it will find a new home in the Lokschuppen venue in Bielefeld. Shuttle buses will transport guests to and from the University and the entrance is free again, twenty years after the uproar about the commercialisation of the Westend Party.