New subsidy agreement with Tonhalle-Gesellschaft

The financial situation of the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich requires a rapid and substantial improvement, according to the city's press release. The association has therefore decided to change the legal form of the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich from an association to a public limited company. This would enable an increase in capital to be made in order to provide the orchestra with a financially secure future. This step was also announced in the City of Zurich's 2020-2023 cultural vision, published in June 2019.

The change in the legal form of the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich has prompted the City of Zurich to undertake a complete revision of the subsidy agreement. The new subsidy agreement replaces the previous agreement between the City of Zurich and the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich association dated March 2, 1988. The central contents of the previous subsidy agreement - its purpose, the support of the Zurich Symphony Orchestra (Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich), and the annual subsidy contribution of CHF 19,781,648 (as of 2020) - remain the same in the new subsidy agreement. The new subsidy agreement has a coherent structure and system, takes into account the current priorities and requirements of the City of Zurich with regard to subsidies in the cultural sector and is adapted to the new legal form of the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich.

The City Council requests the Municipal Council to approve the new subsidy agreement between the City of Zurich and the newly founded Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich AG for the time after the capital increase has been implemented. If the City Council agrees, the City of Zurich would like to acquire a stake in Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich AG in order to continue its current membership of the association in its new organizational form and to underline its commitment to the symphony orchestra. The plan is to acquire 2,500 registered shares with a nominal value of CHF 100 each, i.e. a total of CHF 250,000.