At its first meeting of the new year, the Cultural Advisory Board presented a vision for a dance center in Wiesbaden and a positive report on the experience with the "Infobox Kultur" information boxes placed at various locations. The Advisory Board also discussed the state of municipal culture and the planning status of the Walhalla property in the city center.

Looking back at the budgets of the past three years, the advisory board pointed out the downward trend in real cultural spending, taking into account the development of the Hessian consumer price index. This is the result of an evaluation of data collected by the Cultural Office for the years 2019, 2023, 2024, and 2025, initiated by the Cultural Advisory Board. "We reaffirm our conclusion from the budget discussions," notes Dr. Helmut Müller, chairman of the advisory board. "There are different assessments, but there is agreement between the municipal authorities and the cultural advisory board on the figures. They clearly show that developments in recent years have put enormous pressure on the independent scene." The deputy chair of the advisory board, Dorothée Rhiemeier, adds: "The findings we have published are accompanied by an appeal. If we want to have a sincere debate, we must conduct it on the basis of a common set of facts. The data collected by the cultural office already provides a very good empirical basis. We recommend that everyone involved in the discourse refer to this." 

Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende and project manager Vanessa Remy presented the current planning status for the Walhalla property. According to this, parts of the construction are now to be brought forward in advance of an implementation decision in order to obtain further insights into the building fabric and associated cost issues. The estimated costs have risen from the original €49.2 million to around €70 million at present. To date, liabilities of €7.5 million have already been incurred. Those present reaffirmed the position already formulated by the Cultural Advisory Board that a decision on the renovation can only be made if the necessary funds are added to the culture budget. "I am pleased that the municipal authorities and the Cultural Advisory Board agree that the Walhalla cultural project cannot be financed from the city's existing cultural budget," Dr. Müller concluded.