Around 7,000 attended Festival of Hope in Essen
In Germany, evangelist Franklin Graham preached at an event organised with 260 local churches.
ESSEN · 11 OCTOBER 2023 · 16:14 CET
The Festival der Hoffnung (Festival of Hope) in the city of Essen (Germany) filled the Gugahalle arena on 7 October.
According to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), 6,900 people attended the event, while “many people had to be turned away at the door because there were no more seats”.
Around 260 local Christian churches in the region had worked together to co-organise the event. Over twenty buses with participants came to Essen from as far as Bremen and Hamburg.
The programme included live music by Newsboys, a well-known Christian bands from the US, as well as the German music group Veronika Lohmer & Band.
Franklin Graham, preaching at the Festival of Hope Essen 2023. / Photo: BGEA Preacher Franklin Graham, CEO of the BGEA preached to “the message of the cross, that Jesus Christ died and shed His blood... for our sins”.
“Your soul is worth more than the value of this entire Earth,” Graham said. “It’s worth more than the most expensive BMW or Rolls-Royce ever made, more than all the real estate in Essen, or all the euros of the world”.
Hundreds responded to the calling to follow Jesus, said the organisers.
In 1993, famous evangelist Billy Graham (Franklin’s father) had preached in Essen as well. Then, it was in the context of the German evangelistic conference ProChrist.
Veronika Lohmer & Band, perfroming at the Festival of Hope Essen 2023. / Photo: BGEA Opposition from pressure groups
Ahead of the festival, local LGBTQI groups had expressed their opposition to the event, saying Franklin Graham was not welcome because of his “homophobic views”. They also called the authorities to watch the content of his talks.
“This is nothing new”, responded the preacher speaking to German magazine Pro. “It’s the same lies that have been repeated over and over again. (…) Comments from the past are being taken out of context and portrayed as hateful in order to disrupt the upcoming Festival of Hope”, he added.
In a press conference days ahead of the main event, Graham added: “My message is for everybody”.
Other recent festivals in Europe
This is not the first time Franklin Graham experiences opposition for his views on socio-political issues. The BGEA won a court case in Glasgow (Scotland) where Festival of Hope events were cancelled after pressure from activist LGBTQI groups.
Other European cities hosting the festival in the last decade with thousands of participants include Barcelona, Lisbon and Milan.
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