Eight courageous people seek their fortune in the Kunsthalle St. Annen

Lübeck. On the tables in a corner of the art café in the Kunsthalle St. Annen there are red roses in small vases on each table. Noura Dirani stands at the other end of the room and raises a small white bell decorated with rose vines into the air. “From now on you have seven minutes. Have fun,” says the director of the St. Annen Art Gallery, waving the bell.

Gundula Beuster has taken a seat at one of the tables. Her white hair is chin-length and her lips are painted pink. The elegant blue sweater makes her blue eyes shine. Her smile is warm and open. She seems unobtrusively self-confident, as if she has already seen and experienced a lot. Tonight plunge into a new adventure. They have seven minutes to get to know each other. Seven minutes in which the spark could fly, here at the first speed dating for seniors. There’s just one catch: of the eight who came, seven are women.

The Senior Advisory Board of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck developed the format together with the Kunsthalle St. Annen, to match the current exhibition “Extra Time” by Heather Phillipson. “It’s about the question of time, loneliness, love also plays a big role,” says Dirani. The 100th anniversary of Thomas Mann’s novel “The Magic Mountain” also served as inspiration, reports initiator Beuster. “We wanted to create something that would help combat loneliness, which is a central theme in Rome and which also continues to interest society,” says Beuster. “Senior Speed” was born.

There were 15 registrations for the seven places for women, and only one for the seven places for men. The man came too, wearing jeans and a blue fleece jacket, but he doesn’t want to read his name in the newspaper. “I want to do something about being alone,” says the 71-year-old. He doesn’t feel lonely because he has a large network.

A few years ago, the Lübeck native was speed dating in the Celona bar. “There were 40 people from every age group,” he says. But the right person wasn’t there for him yet. It’s not easy to get to know someone in Lübeck, but he has already met a few women. On the beach, in the city, while walking. Great women, “but no butterflies appeared,” he says.

“I like living alone”

In speed dating, participants have seven minutes to get to know each other. When the seven minutes are over, one person moves one table further. All participants carry a sign with a number. At the end of the evening, they can write down on a piece of paper the people they would like to see again a second time. The organizers take over the evaluation. If there is a “match”, i.e. two people indicate each other, the Kunsthalle St. Annen invites them to a second date for coffee and cake in the art café.

Beuster also takes part in speed dating. “I’m not unhappy, I like living alone,” she says. She hangs out with friends, goes to the theater, is involved in society and enjoys her retirement. “I like cooking, so I rarely go. “But it would be nice to cook with a man again,” says Beuster.

Getting to know someone isn’t easy

Loneliness runs through all generations. Older people often find it difficult to make new friends or start relationships. In Germany, many people over 65 live alone. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the proportion in this age group was 35 percent, slightly above the EU average (31 percent). Particularly due to higher life expectancy, the proportion of single women (40 percent) is almost twice as high as that of men (21 percent).

It’s hard to get to know men, says Beuster. She once danced with a man at the over-60s disco that Hans-Ulrich and Karin Köhlke invite every month to the Sachers on the Hüxbrücke. “But only because my girlfriend said to him that I would like to dance with him,” says Beuster with a laugh.

People find everyday romantic relationships on dating apps like Tinder, Bumble and Co. The age range can be adjusted here, but apps like “Zweisam” are specifically aimed at people over 50. So far he has not had any success with online dating, said the 71-year-old “rooster in the basket”. And tonight? There wasn’t one there either. But the 71-year-old doesn’t give up. “I’ll keep at it. No one jumps over the balcony.”

No fire of love was lit tonight. But that’s not absolutely necessary either. “The ladies were primarily interested in making new contacts,” said Beuster. They have already arranged to meet at the Klönschnackbank in the Kunsthalle St. Annen. “It didn’t matter that there was only one man there.”

The next date for Senior Speed ​​is February 20, 2025. The format for queer oldies will take place on November 28, 2024. Registration via the Kunsthalle St. Annen website.

LN