diff --git a/src/pretix/base/forms/questions.py b/src/pretix/base/forms/questions.py
index a4184fa52..88f2cc6a3 100644
--- a/src/pretix/base/forms/questions.py
+++ b/src/pretix/base/forms/questions.py
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ from django.db.models import QuerySet
 from django.forms import Select, widgets
 from django.forms.widgets import FILE_INPUT_CONTRADICTION
 from django.utils.formats import date_format
+from django.utils.functional import lazy
 from django.utils.html import escape
 from django.utils.safestring import mark_safe
 from django.utils.text import format_lazy
@@ -324,16 +325,21 @@ class WrappedPhonePrefixSelect(Select):
     initial = None
 
     def __init__(self, initial=None):
-        choices = [("", "---------")]
+        def _get_choices():
+            choices = [("", "---------")]
+
+            if initial:
+                for prefix, values in COUNTRY_CODE_TO_REGION_CODE.items():
+                    if all(v == REGION_CODE_FOR_NON_GEO_ENTITY for v in values):
+                        continue
+                    if initial in values:
+                        self.initial = "+%d" % prefix
+                        break
+            choices += get_phone_prefixes_sorted_and_localized()
+            return choices
+
+        choices = lazy(_get_choices, list)()
 
-        if initial:
-            for prefix, values in COUNTRY_CODE_TO_REGION_CODE.items():
-                if all(v == REGION_CODE_FOR_NON_GEO_ENTITY for v in values):
-                    continue
-                if initial in values:
-                    self.initial = "+%d" % prefix
-                    break
-        choices += get_phone_prefixes_sorted_and_localized()
         super().__init__(choices=choices, attrs={
             'aria-label': pgettext_lazy('phonenumber', 'International area code'),
             'autocomplete': 'tel-country-code',
diff --git a/src/pretix/base/management/commands/noop.py b/src/pretix/base/management/commands/noop.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3cb2314e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/pretix/base/management/commands/noop.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#
+# This file is part of pretix (Community Edition).
+#
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2020  Raphael Michel and contributors
+# Copyright (C) 2020-today pretix GmbH and contributors
+#
+# This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General
+# Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation in version 3 of the License.
+#
+# ADDITIONAL TERMS APPLY: Pursuant to Section 7 of the GNU Affero General Public License, additional terms are
+# applicable granting you additional permissions and placing additional restrictions on your usage of this software.
+# Please refer to the pretix LICENSE file to obtain the full terms applicable to this work. If you did not receive
+# this file, see <https://pretix.eu/about/en/license>.
+#
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
+# warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU Affero General Public License for more
+# details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License along with this program.  If not, see
+# <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand
+
+
+class Command(BaseCommand):
+    help = "Do nothing. Useful for startup performance testing."
+
+    def handle(self, *args, **options):
+        pass
diff --git a/src/pretix/control/forms/event.py b/src/pretix/control/forms/event.py
index ca5a34d4c..32e6d2ea2 100644
--- a/src/pretix/control/forms/event.py
+++ b/src/pretix/control/forms/event.py
@@ -1673,7 +1673,7 @@ class CountriesAndEUAndStates(CountriesAndEU):
 
 class TaxRuleLineForm(I18nForm):
     country = LazyTypedChoiceField(
-        choices=CountriesAndEUAndStates(),
+        choices=lazy(lambda: CountriesAndEUAndStates(), CountriesAndEUAndStates),
         required=False
     )
     address_type = forms.ChoiceField(
diff --git a/src/tests/test_startup.py b/src/tests/test_startup.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9234696f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/test_startup.py
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+#
+# This file is part of pretix (Community Edition).
+#
+# Copyright (C) 2014-2020  Raphael Michel and contributors
+# Copyright (C) 2020-today pretix GmbH and contributors
+#
+# This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General
+# Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation in version 3 of the License.
+#
+# ADDITIONAL TERMS APPLY: Pursuant to Section 7 of the GNU Affero General Public License, additional terms are
+# applicable granting you additional permissions and placing additional restrictions on your usage of this software.
+# Please refer to the pretix LICENSE file to obtain the full terms applicable to this work. If you did not receive
+# this file, see <https://pretix.eu/about/en/license>.
+#
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
+# warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU Affero General Public License for more
+# details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License along with this program.  If not, see
+# <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import tempfile
+
+
+def test_start_with_redis_down():
+    """
+    This is a test that ensures that pretix is able to start without a running redis server,
+    even if one is configured.
+    """
+    with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(suffix="cfg") as f:
+        f.write(b"[redis]\nlocation=redis://127.0.0.99:65534/2\n")
+        f.flush()
+
+        assert subprocess.check_call(
+            [
+                sys.executable,
+                os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '../manage.py'),
+                "noop",
+            ],
+            env={
+                "PRETIX_CONFIG_FILE": f.name,
+            }
+        ) == 0