2019 - November - Cologne - tonight Show

Cologne really offers everything: from multiculturalism to cultural heritage, to an interesting media landscape, everything is included. And on top of that, there is also the carnival, which is celebrated here in a grand way. And all of this we had during one weekend.

The show started with the tonight Show. Tickets for the ZDF show are so popular that they have to be drawn. Every few months, you can participate in such a raffle via tvtickets.de. The tickets are not free, but at 15 € per person, still affordable. 

But for that, you not only get to see the show, but also get a behind-the-scenes look. The show is recorded, so Oliver Welke and his team have enough time to cut out any mistakes and repeat everything until every word is perfect.

To make sure the audience participates properly, there is a warm-up before the show. He creates a great atmosphere and lots of clapping exercises. All of this is also recorded, so that only ecstatic applause can be heard in the show. Interestingly, you can also laugh even if there is no reason. When one person starts laughing, everyone else joins in. So you can imagine that we couldn't stop laughing.

By the way, during our show, we were also filmed for another show. Without knowing it beforehand, we were basically extras in an episode of Wilsberg. We were read a part of the script that didn't make sense to us or Oliver Welke. And then we laughed loudly about something that wasn't funny at all without knowing the context of the crime story. Crazy.

So if you ever feel like having a really funny evening, it's worth signing up.

Unfortunately, I can't provide any photos of the tonight Show because there is a strict ban on using phones. And you can't sneak one in either because they actually pat you down at the entrance.

For the evening after the show, I also have a tip: right around the corner from the studio is Little Istanbul. The area around Keupstrasse is really a replica of a Turkish city. There are plenty of good restaurants, bakeries, hairdressers, jewelry stores, etc. I love Turkish cuisine, so Keupstrasse is always a popular destination for me.

In the next article, you will find some tips for a short stay in Cologne.