“We live right around the corner and of course we want to support the good cause,” explains Harry Krellmann. Together with his wife, their six-year old son and hundreds of fellow Offenburgers, he wants to make BAMBI shine. At around 6.30 pm on Monday, the first fans of the golden deer arrive at a town square, equipped with flashlights and white umbrellas, and are put in position.

The red chalk line on the ground is almost 400 meters long and has been produced over the course of two days. It runs directly next to the statue “Male/Female”, once donated to the city by publisher Aenne Burda. The chalk line defines BAMBI’s outline for the people who want to take the golden deer to the skies that night.

For Gabriele Jahn, participating it is a matter of course—and not only because proceeds of the undertaking go to TRIBUTE TO BAMBI. “I have been living in Offenburg for over 50 years and I am proud that something this special is happening here.” Nicole Leonhard from Neuried agrees: “When I read about it, I immediately got tickets.” Just like all the other BAMBI extras, she has donned warm clothes. The night is cold and even the hot wine punch cannot keep people warm.

Shortly before 7pm, the deer’s right ear is completed, a few minutes later also both hind legs. “We are now moving on to the belly,” explains Markus Knoll from Hitradio, the event’s presenter. Half an hour later, everything is ready for the rehearsal: “Umbrellas up and flashlights on,” requests Knoll—and immediately the square is illuminated by more than 700 flashlights.

A few minutes later, the helicopter arrives and shoots a clip to be shown at the live award ceremony on Thursday. And hundreds of people from Offenburg will then be able to say: “We are BAMBI!”

Proceeds of the event organized by Reiff Medien and the region’s electric utility are donated to TRIBUTE TO BAMBI to help children in need. You can make a contribution as well: account number 3751210121, bank code 70020500, Bank für Sozialwirtschaft.