In 2003 a couple of friends (who earned their merits by hosting exclusive bdsm events at old castles and palaces) wondered, why Europe and especially Germany is home of the most vivid fetish scene world wide, but that there are hardly bigger events and except one, non with international impact. So they planned enriching the European scene by adding an international event with a different emphasis to it. The time-honoured Skin Two Rubber Ball was of course a role model; however the intention was clearly not to copy something already existing, but instead to create a modern interpretation of what they believed to be a real cool fetish event.
A special venue for the German Fetish Ball was long searched and with the Matrix in Berlin it was found. By booking it along with the adjoining clubs and lounges, the German Fetish Ball is offering nothing less then 5 music floors and a huge capacity for over 2000 guests. The German Fetish Fair was the attempt to establish a real international trade exposition for the industry in Germany, something most people in the scene believed that would be useless and it would not being honoured or well attended. The same was being said about the plan to combine a fetish audience with high-class show acts, live music and a five star menu at the Xklusiv Fetish Dinner.
It turned out, that the first German Fetish Ball Weekend 2004 was more then a great success and the sceptics were all wrong. The goal to create something unique and new was achieved. The German Fetish Fair was fully booked and absolutely crowded, so that since then each year a bigger venue had to be found. The Xklusiv Fetish Dinner was voted best fetish dinner ever from the Skin Two Publisher Tim Woodward and the Ball itself was the best-visited fetish event in Germany ever.
The various numbers of copycat events in the following years and the boom of so called fetish weekends is a good sign on what impact the German Fetish Ball had on the scene. And since this first event, the entire weekend developed more and more, setting the standards for a first-class fetish event higher and higher. So even going in to its 5th year and being surrounded by other (wannabe big) fetish events, the German Fetish Ball Weekend clearly stands out among German events.
Of course some changes and improvements took place in the past years:
The German Fetish Ball venue was recently equipped with lots of flat screens and projectors, so that the big shows can now be seen all over the venue. A big indoor swimming pool was installed, which was first in use at the GFB 2007 and made a lot of fun with guests splashing in the pool in full latex attrie. The dungeon area was cancelled on purpose after its first year and live music was added instead, giving the guests a cosy area, to chill and talk, something missing at most other parties. Instead of that, a pure play party was established on the Saturday, so that the BDSM aspect of the weekend survived, now at a much better place, allowing more erotic and intense play, than a playroom at a dance party could ever provide. Friday, as the first day of the long fetish weekend now starts with a cocktail party, which is no VIP only party nor has a cover charge; it is free for all guests and performers and mirrors the structure of the scene. Be honest and look around, most better known people (no matter if models, performers, promoters, or whatsoever) are not feeling like stars or VIPs and are not demanding a special treatment or seeing themselves as something better then the usual fetish crowd. That is the spirit of the German Fetish Ball Weekend: A weekend where you go because you want to go to, where you meet old friends and simply have good time. It is not a must-attend event because you are part of the fetish industry, you don’t go there because you are on the guest list or get paid for, instead you go simply for fun and because it is worth attending. We are one community and we shall feel as one.
That is what the German Fetish Ball is committed to. The fans of the GFB (how they call it) and we, the creators of this weekend, look forward to a new and very special event in 2008: The fifth German Fetish Ball Weekend. Some improvements and new inventions are already planned and so the next GFB will be even better, then the years before, which the majority already considered the best fetish event ever. So look forward to it and join us for a a great CELEBRATION!
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