Pampered Pop Parents

For the kids, standing for hours on end to get the chance to get a glimpse of their heroes on stage is just part of being infatuated with a pop group. The dedicated fan thinks nothing of camping out for tickets overnight or queuing for a gig for days. For most, this is not a problem. Teenagers are hardy sorts and -- with parental permission -- can quite easily withstand the rigors of serious fandom.

But for fans of German teen sensations Tokio Hotel, it is an entirely different pot of eyeliner.

While the fans themselves are more than willing to withstand the boredom of lining up with other like-minded souls for the chance to scream at Bill, Tom, Gustav and Georg, a large number of those are well below the age of parental consent. This means that mum and dad have to queue as well. And this is where the problem lies.

A parent's worst nightmare made bearable

Mummy and Daddy may have only just gotten round to the idea that their offspring is having confusingly carnal thoughts about an androgynous teenage boy with what appears to be a humongous skunk-like porcupine stuck on his head. Now they have to stand in almost 40-degree heat for hours, if not days, to make sure said infatuated child is safely ticketed and ensconced in the secure atmosphere of the kindergarten/rock concert of their dreams.

This was the case this weekend when Tokio Hotel were set to play to 8000 screamer pre-teens at the Frankfurt Festival Hall. In scorching sunshine, the parents of the eight to 15-year old crowd members soon found themselves wilting along with their crazed offspring. Luckily, they also soon found themselves to be the subject of a parental care experiment.

Local radio broadcaster HR3, a sponsor of the Tokio Hotel show, provided parents with refreshments, music to dance to, Formula One racing arcade games and other pastimes to help the hours fly by. Mothers queued to have airbrush tattoos painted on while competitive dads fought over the table soccer game. For those who had been in line since the early hours of Sunday morning, it was a God-send.

Pass the water, please

"When we found out from the police that there would be parental care, we were very glad," said Simone Geppert from Cologne who had been in the queue with her husband Siggi and daughter Selina since five in the morning. "It is such a relief that there is somewhere to sit down and something to drink."

"I am more afraid about the kids queuing up alone than I do about them at the concert," said Claudia Düsterbeck whose 11-year old daughter was busily making friends with other Tokio Hotel fans as she sipped from a bottle of cooling water provided by the parental carers. "When they said this service was available, it eased those fears."

Once the queuing was over and the kids rushed to be as close as possible to their idols, the parents relaxed further. Taking advantage of showers set up in the nearby train station and continuing their own fun at the various arcade machines set up around the venue, the adults were well occupied until they could pick up their kids safely again at the concert's end at nine o'clock that evening.