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Football cup fever is slowly building up again in Saxony – the draw for the first two rounds has been made. The black-red federal government has put together a comprehensive package of reforms. In the music city of Leipzig, the festival strategy has been refined. And 311 bright Saxon school pupils have achieved a perfect 1.0 in their A-levels. The LZ summarises the key events in Leipzig and beyond on Thursday, 2 July 2026.
Saxony Cup draw for the first two rounds
Less than six weeks after FC Erzgebirge Aue placed their newly won Saxony Cup in the trophy cabinet, the draw for the first two rounds of the upcoming new season took place today. Like all Saxon Regionalliga and Oberliga sides, the defending champions will not be in action until the second round. In that round, the Erzgebirge side will travel to face Landesklasse newcomers VfB Weißwasser.
The Regionalliga champions, 1. FC Lok Leipzig, were drawn a rather tricky fixture. They too will not play until the second round, when they face Oberliga side VfB Auerbach – an opponent against whom the Probstheida-based side have often struggled. The overall record in their previous encounters is evenly balanced, with four draws and seven wins apiece for both teams. However, Lok won both previous cup encounters – in 2018 and 2019 – in Auerbach by a score of 4–1 on each occasion.
BSG Chemie Leipzig’s second-round opponent has not yet been finalised. They will face the winner of the first-round tie between Germania Mittweida and SV Neudorf away from home. FSV Zwickau, too, must wait for the result of the match between DJK Sokol Ralbitz/Horka and Heidenauer SV. Chemnitzer FC, on the other hand, are in the clear. They will host Dresdner SC in the second round – which takes place at the weekend of 5–6 September.
The weekend of 8–9 August, however, is reserved for the first round of the cup. The programme includes an all-Leipzig derby between SG Olympia Leipzig (Stadtliga) and SV Lindenau (Landesklasse). A complete overview of all the cup fixtures drawn can be found on the Saxon Football Association (SFV) website.
The coalition’s reform package
The black-red federal government has put together a reform package comprising 34 measures in the coalition committee. The aim is to strengthen the economy and the welfare state, cut red tape and modernise Germany. Tax relief totalling around ten billion euros annually is planned to come into effect on 1 January 2027. Plans include higher basic and child allowances, increased child benefit, a higher flat-rate allowance for employees, and a reduction in the progressive tax rate.
Small and medium incomes are set to benefit most. To finance these measures, the so-called ‘wealth tax’ will be tightened. There are no plans to increase inheritance or wealth tax. The tradespeople’s allowance will be reduced, whilst the flat-rate tax for mini-jobs will rise. The federal government intends to partially compensate the states and local authorities for their loss of revenue. The recommendations of the Pension Security Commission are to be implemented in a pensions bill by the end of 2026. A decision on future pension contributions for mini-jobs is still pending.
In the labour market, sick notes provided by telephone are to be abolished, and the certificates of incapacity for work will in future be required from the very first day of illness. In addition, stricter penalties are planned for incorrect certificates. Fixed-term contracts without objective grounds will be extended – on a temporary basis until the end of 2030 – to up to 48 months with six extensions. Tax relief on severance pay is planned for high earners if they take up new employment quickly. Furthermore, tax-advantaged allowances for work on Sundays and public holidays are to be extended, and a programme to reduce the number of people without school or vocational qualifications has been announced.
To boost growth, future-oriented sectors are to be specifically supported. An action plan involving enhanced data sharing between authorities is envisaged to combat the misuse of social security benefits. The coalition also plans to ease data protection requirements for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary organisations. To cut red tape, reporting and documentation requirements are to be significantly reduced, tax returns simplified, a pre-filled digital tax return introduced, and companies issued with a tax number within four weeks.
The City of Music is refining its festival strategy
Under the umbrella brand ‘Musikstadt Leipzig’, the city’s festival landscape is to be strategically developed for the period 2029 to 2039, as announced today. The Gewandhaus and Leipzig Opera intend to coordinate their festival planning more closely, set joint priorities and organise alternating festivals on a biennial basis from 2029 onwards. The Leipzig Bach Festival and the Mendelssohn Festival are to take place annually. However, the city council has yet to vote on this.
A joint focus on Pyotr Tchaikovsky is planned for 2029. A Mahler Festival is scheduled to take place at the Gewandhaus in 2031, whilst in 2033 the Opera plans a focus on Richard Wagner, whose reception history is also to be examined critically. From 2035 onwards, further festivals – for example, on Anton Bruckner, Johannes Brahms or Robert Schumann – are conceivable, and there are also plans to give greater consideration to female composers.
The stated objectives are closer coordination of the festivals, greater international appeal and a stronger emphasis on Leipzig’s musical history. The Beethoven Festival in 2027 and the Verdi Festival in 2028 remain scheduled until 2028. Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH will ultimately be responsible for marketing the umbrella brand internationally.
Dream A-levels: 1.0
Saxony is celebrating its brightest minds. The Saxon Ministry of Culture today honoured 311 pupils from the Free State at the Frauenkirche in Dresden. These pupils had completed this year’s Abitur or their Fachhochschulreife with the dream grade of 1.0. Alongside a letter of congratulations from Minister-President Michael Kretschmer (CDU), the young people received a certificate from Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs Conrad Clemens (CDU), a commemorative plaque made of Meissen porcelain and a book voucher.
A total of 14,064 pupils from general secondary schools, colleges and evening schools, vocational secondary schools, technical secondary schools and technical colleges sat the final examinations. Of the 311 candidates who achieved a grade of 1.0, 218 were young women. This represents 70 per cent of the total. Leipzig is represented in this top tier by 93 pupils. The Thomasschule in Leipzig achieved the top mark no fewer than eleven times – more than any other school in Saxony.
What the LZ reported on today:
Commentary: The Chancellor’s mistrust of the country’s hard-working people
Hello Leipzig: This is how Thursday, 2 July 2026 begins LVB Update
What else was important:
Infineon’s newly built chip factory opened today in the north of Dresden. The so-called Smart Power Fab was actually completed three months ahead of schedule. It was built as an extension to the existing plant. It is expected to create 1,000 jobs.
In the conflict with the ultra-conservative Society of St Pius X, the Vatican has now taken decisive action and excommunicated all clergy belonging to this society from the Catholic Church. The consecration of four bishops in Switzerland, carried out without a papal mandate, was the final straw.
Google must now pay a fine of 4.1 billion euros after all for breaches of EU competition rules. The European Court of Justice has now definitively confirmed the legality of this fine, which was imposed by the European Commission eight years ago. Google had challenged the decision in court – but the tech giant was unable to secure more than a slight reduction in the competition fine, which had originally been set at 4.3 billion euros.
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