Recklinghäuser Hurz — The Quirky Comedy Award

A Comedy Award Born from a Sketch

In 1992, two artists who grew up in Recklinghausen created a sketch that went down in German television history: Hape Kerkeling and Achim Hagemann spoofed the rituals of the classical music scene as a pseudo-composer and pseudo-singer with the pseudo-song "Hurz." Two generations later, the two Recklinghausen natives have transformed the sketch's name into an annual comedy award — the Recklinghäuser Hurz, officially presented in its hometown for 25 years since the sketch's premiere.

2026 — The 10th Anniversary Edition

On September 21, 2026, the award ceremony will take place at the Ruhrfestspielhaus — the festival hall on Recklinghausen's "Grüner Hügel" (Green Hill) and a venue for the Ruhrfestspiele. Should the ongoing stage technical renovations not be completed by then, the show will move to the Kassiopeia hall, with an additional balcony and supplementary screens to ensure visibility.

Moderation and Jury

The event will be hosted by Steffi Neu (WDR), one of the most well-known voices in North Rhine-Westphalian radio. The jury will be presided over by Achim Hagemann — alongside Recklinghausen's mayor Axel Tschersich. Together, they decide on the awarding of the Hurz, which annually goes to a comedy personality or a comedy contribution with a special courage for quirkiness.

Format and Atmosphere

The Hurz is a mix of an award ceremony, a comedy show, and a stage party. Performances by established and new comedy voices alternate with the announcement of the award winners. The format is explicitly high-quality: comedy on a grand stage set, accompanied by a live band and stage direction at Ruhrfestspiele level. The fact that tickets regularly sell out quickly shows that the Hurz has earned a firm place in the Ruhr area's comedy calendar.

Recklinghausen — The Festival City

Recklinghausen — the district town of Recklinghausen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia — has been one of Germany's oldest festival cities since 1947 with the Ruhrfestspiele. The Hurz fits into this tradition as a younger, decidedly quirkier variant.