Press Release | Berlin, 04/30/2016

Glamorous Stage Show, Stars and Record Donations at the ‘Rosenball 2016’ in Berlin

• Liz Mohn and Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe welcome some 600 guests
• Widespread support for the German Stroke Foundation’s pediatric projects
• Simply Red and Nena perform their greatest hits at the charity gala

Donations reached a new record level at the “Rosenball 2016”: When the legendary charity gala starts in Berlin on Saturday evening, the hosts Liz Mohn and Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe will not only welcome illustrious guests and an exciting stage program, but also celebrate widespread support for the German Stroke Foundation’s projects for children. Before the doors to the Rosenball opened, more than €430,000 had already been received in donations and sponsorships – more than ever before. The donations will go towards improving treatment and care for children affected by strokes in Germany. The sum is expected to rise further during the course of the evening, as the ball guests will wear pedometers on the dance floor, and every step they dance will be converted into donation euros. This particular aspect of the charity evening serves to illustrate that movement can play an important part in stroke prevention and therapy.

Around 600 well-known personages from the media, culture, politics, business, and society will attend Liz Mohn and Bertelsmann’s 12th Rosenball at the Grand Ballroom of the Berlin InterContinental hotel. A varied live program awaits them, as two true pop legends take to the stage: the hit British band Simply Red led by its front man Mick Hucknall, and Nena, one of the most successful artists in German music history. Both BMG acts will perform their greatest hits live, including “Stars” (Simply Red) and “99 Red Balloons” (Nena).

Tom Gaebel & His Orchestra will ensure the guests are busy as possible on the dance floor to boost the donations. The evening is rounded off with a four-course gala meal and a raffle with valuable prizes, whose proceeds will go to the Pediatric Stroke Aid Campaign, an initiative of the German Stroke Foundation founded by Liz Mohn 23 years ago. Frauke Ludowig and Guido Maria Kretschmer will emcee the Rosenball; both presenters have volunteered with the German Stroke Foundation for many years.

Several thousand children and teenagers in Germany suffer from the effects of a stroke, with at least 300 new cases each year – and experts assume a high number of unreported cases because many childhood strokes are never diagnosed at all or only years later.

Liz Mohn, President of the German Stroke Foundation, says: “Childhood strokes have largely been ignored for a long time, because the disease is not so common, and many people think that strokes only happen to the elderly. Our Pediatric Stroke Aid Campaign seeks to raise awareness about the issue and improve the support available. A stroke is a huge shock for the whole family and the affected children go through life with a severe handicap. Trained doctors, more support offers, our ‘stroke guide’ for children, and special family programs aim to provide the best possible support in this situation.”

In the years ahead, the Pediatric Stroke Aid Campaign will primarily sponsor children’s hospitals with proven neurological expertise, to expand them into specialized pediatric stroke centers. About ten locations are planned, to be distributed throughout Germany. The aim is that no young stroke victims will need to travel more than 200 km for optimum care.

Thomas Rabe, Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann, says: “The German Stroke Foundation is doing important pioneering work with its Pediatric Stroke Aid Campaign: it builds awareness, funds doctors’ training, promotes research and sponsors equipment at children’s hospitals. In this way it helps the youngest patients and their families. Bertelsmann fully stands behind these efforts.”

Numerous celebrities, including the actors Heino Ferch, Martina Gedeck, Lisa Martinek, Hannelore Hoger and Jasmin Tabatabai, have confirmed their attendance at the Rosenball.

From politics, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Saarland Prime Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, CDU MP Wolfgang Bosbach, and the former Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit are expected. TV stars Peter Kloeppel, Steffen Hallaschka, Verona Pooth, Sylvie Meis and Cathy Hummels, top model Franziska Knuppe, and choreographer Jorge Gonzalez have also indicated that they are coming. The guest list also includes Eduard Prince of Anhalt, the presenters Monika Lierhaus, Cherno Jobatey, Nazan Eckes, Birgit Schrowange and Nina Moghaddam, the producers Wolf Bauer and Nico Hofmann, the former professional athletes Axel Schulz, Regina Halmich, and Alexander Leipold, and Olympic champion Maria Höfl-Riesch. Guests from the world of business include Friedrich von Metzler, Clemens Tönnies, Kajo Neukirchen, Gerhard Weber, Peter Terium, Carsten Maschmeyer, Alexander Dibelius, and Béatrice Guillaume-Grabisch.

Bertelsmann will start broadcasting from the Rosenball red carpet at 6 p.m., via livestream on www.bertelsmann.de  , and tweet using the hashtag #Rosenball16.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is an international media company whose core divisions encompass television (RTL Group), book publishing (Penguin Random House), magazine publishing (Gruner + Jahr), services (Arvato), and printing (Be Printers) in some 50 countries. In 2013, the company’s businesses, with their more than 111,000 employees, generated revenues of €16.4 billion. Bertelsmann stands for a combination of creativity and entrepreneurship that empowers the creation of first-rate media, communications, and service offerings to inspire people around the world and to provide innovative solutions for customers.

About the German Stroke Foundation
Each year, close to 270,000 people in Germany suffer a stroke. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Germany, and the most common cause of disability in adulthood. The German Stroke Foundation was founded by Liz Mohn in 1993. Independent and devoted to the common good, it is dedicated to its constitutional mandate to prevent strokes and contribute to improving the care of stroke patients. It develops innovative treatment concepts and makes an important contribution to improving the quality of care by issuing certifications for special stroke units. More than 190 doctors volunteer their time to support the awareness-building and information efforts of the Foundation, under whose umbrella more than 450 stroke support groups have also been set up nationwide.