In the evening, “The Passion” celebrates its comeback on RTL as a new interpretation of the death and resurrection of Jesus – with new celebrities, new songs and new locations. After the Ruhr area city of Essen witnessed the suffering of the Savior two years ago, RTL is staging the major production in Kassel in northern Hesse in 2024.
Presenter and singer Ben Blümel (“Engel”) will be seen as Jesus, succeeding Alexander Klaws.
RTL has hired the actor and singer Jimi Blue Ochsenknecht to play the traitor Judas. Mother Maria is portrayed by No Angels singer Nadja Benaissa. For the “Passion” they sing well-known pop songs that are interwoven with the Jesus story.
Main stage in Kassel
The main stage (75 tons of technology) will be located in Kassel at the central Friedrichsplatz, one of the largest inner-city squares in Germany. It is also the central location of the five-yearly documenta art exhibition, which recently came under criticism due to allegations of anti-Semitism.
There were 8,000 tickets for spectators – according to Kassel Marketing GmbH, all were booked.
In the city it is hoped that the audience of millions of “Passion” will give a boost to the city’s popularity and tourism. In 2022, an average of almost 3 million saw the RTL show.