Convention Rules

Preamble

  • These rules are in full effect inside the entire venue area of GalaCon
  • The domiciliary rights of the venue staff even stand above the convention rules.
  • The Terms and Conditions of the Pony Events Federation e.V. apply. Please especially consider the general rules of conduct (par 10 to 11). The following rules only summarize or complement those general rules, so please make sure to read the terms and conditions carefully.

Rules of Conduct

  • Do not harass, ridicule or bully guests or staff.
  • Do not approach the Guests of Honour in their downtime. They need their rest just like you do, so please, give them space!
  • Animals are not allowed on the venue ground. The only exceptions are guide dogs and similar pets that you depend on for your wellbeing.
  • Do not camp at the venue.
  • All kinds of vehicles are prohibited inside the venue.
  • Any spoken or visual display of political beliefs or affiliation with political parties, individuals, (loose) groupings or movements is forbidden as well as any kind of advertisement. This especially includes badges, flags, manifests or posters. Wearing uniforms as an expression of political beliefs is not only forbidden without permission according to our rules anyways (see below), but may be considered a criminal offense according to German law.

Security / Emergency Situations

  • What staff says counts. You are expected to adhere to all orders given by the convention- and the venue staff as well as the volunteers.
  • If you ever find yourself in a bind, don’t hesitate to ask the staff for help. Don’t try to solve a heated situation on your own! If in doubt let the guards or other staff take care of it instead.
  • Emergency exits are to be kept usable at all times. Don’t get in the way of volunteer work and medical assistance.
  • In the case of fire go to the marked rescue area and listen to the volunteers and firefighters. Never try to extinguish a fire on your own.

Weapons, Clothing and Imagery

The following rules are a summary of the general rules of conduct. Please also refer to par. 10 of our terms and conditions.

  • All kinds of harmful weapons, replica weapons, soft air guns, blunted swords, anything explosive, brass knuckles, knives or any other weapons which can inflict serious pain are prohibited.
  • Spike collars and bracelets are only allowed if the spikes are shorter than 5cm / 2 inches and blunt.
  • LARP weapons, foam weapons and any other weapons meant for safe usage have to be revised be the GalaCon staff.
  • Uniforms or military badges of any kind are prohibited regardless of their historic, national, or politic classification. This also includes phantasy uniforms and badges or parts of uniforms. People who are entitled to wear uniforms as officials or public servants are excluded from this regulation.
  • No symbols, media, depictions, performances, or writings may be presented on venue grounds which are illegal, liable to corrupting the youth, glorifying violence, liable to disrupt the event or erotic resp. suggestive.
  • The staff decides if named criteria are met or exceptions are made. You may – and are in case of ambiguity obliged to – ask before the event.

Youth Protection

  • All visitors must carry an official, valid ID at all times.
  • The convention staff can request to see your ID at any time.
  • Up to the age of 14 visitors must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
  • Visitors under the age of 16 not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian must leave the con area at 10 pm.
  • Alcohol and smoking inside the venue are forbidden at all times. Smoking is ONLY allowed at the marked smoking areas. Drunk visitors will be removed from the convention.
  • All kinds of hookahs are prohibited.
  • Electronic cigarettes are only allowed outside the venue.

Food and Drink regulations

  • You are not allowed to bring food or drinks from outside the venue. Everything bought outside
    the venue has to be consumed outside. Food and drinks can be bought at the venues snack point.
  • NO FOOD AND DRINKS allowed in the panel rooms.
  • The terraced site belongs to the venue restaurant. Only food and drinks purchased
    there may be consumed in that area.

Recording of Film- and Photo footage

  • Throughout the whole convention weekend, our internal documentation and streaming teams will record film and photo footage of the event.
  • Be aware that when our teams record crowded scenes or panels, you might get
    filmed or photographed unnoticed. The GalaCon team has the rights to publish this
    footage at any given time.
  • If you notice this and don’t want to be in the pictures and/or videos, please stand back and avoid entering the scene.
  • If our team films/pictures single persons or small groups, they will ask for your permission. It is your right to disagree being filmed or pictured respectively stepping out from the picture or scene in that case.
  • If you don’t veto on this subject clearly, you silently agree to be filmed/pictured and the recorded footage being published at any time.

Consequences

  • In case of a violation, we may exclude visitors from the event (house ban), deny entrance to the event or even exclude visitors from future events.
  • If a visitor is excluded or denied entrance because of a violation of the convention rules, the ticket will not be refunded and any kind of indeminification is excluded.
  • We may additionally claim compensation for financial or reputational damages.
  • If a criminal offence is in question, especially in case of acts of violence, the incident will be reported to the local police.
  • We may also exclude visitors from the event or even future events if their behavior and their visible belonging to our events’ attendees damages our reputation. This is especially presumed in case of negative press reports or complaints relating to such behavior.

Please make sure to follow these rules to ensure a safe and pleasant convention for everyone!