At the announcement of the “Great People’s Rock’n’Roller Fan Festival” with Andreas Gabalier, there was talk of 170,000 guests. And of a folk festival with a Ferris wheel, roller coaster, supporting program, traditional costume sales and craft shows. A lot has happened since that first press conference in November 2019, including a pandemic, and that’s why the organizers are now letting the biggest hype be. Only 100,000 guests are now expected at the Graz singer’s concert.
Well, what does “only” mean? That’s still 30,000 more than the Rolling Stones in the Olympic Stadium when Munich becomes the “epicenter of popular rock’n’roll” on Saturday.
The first of three open airs this year at Messe Riem (followed by Helene Fischer on August 20th and Robbie Williams on August 27th) will definitely be a crowd. Visitors can’t expect a roller coaster anymore, but at least an “adventure area”. Here guests can while away the waiting time at 70 market stalls and 50 food trucks from 12 p.m. to get into the actual concert arena and the start of the Gabalier show at 8 p.m. And that’s what the organizer is asking, to equalize the onslaught throughout the afternoon.
With additional “Early Entry Tickets” to be purchased, visitors can then secure standing room at the front from 2 p.m. or a seat in their grandstand block, as these are not numbered; all others and guests with VIP tickets who are fed in a Käfer exhibition hall are allowed in from 4 p.m.
Long waiting times are to be expected
Even if it is spread over the afternoon: waiting times are to be expected. Every guest should go straight to the entrance marked on their ticket, and that’s where it gets a bit complicated: East entrance is at Messe Freigelände Süd (underground station, Messe Ost), West at Freigelände Nord, North at the temporary bridge to the fan bus parking lot and to Hofbräuallee, and VIP next to the Messe-Parkhaus-West (underground exit Messe West).
It’s best to print them out 36-page information brochure on the organizer’s website (www.leutgebgroup.com) out. It also contains a detailed travel plan with all official parking options, for example at the arena in Fröttmaning, at Airbus, the airport and in Unterföhring. Those who park there will be taken to and from the trade fair with the free shuttle (and take part in a raffle as a thank you).
The ring road around the exhibition center is closed, signs direct the traffic, the Munich police are there with more than 150 officers to avoid chaos. The MVG is also trying to tame the crowds, it has tripled the number of underground trains at times, but is still expecting “bottlenecks”: From 11 a.m. there will be a five-minute interval with the number 8 booster line from the Olympic Center; Additional trains run between Harthof and Messe from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. on the U2.
Even after the concert at 10:30 p.m., additional trains run as U2 and U8 exclusively from Messestadt West; but because many then want to go home at the same time, the train stations could be closed at times. The MVG gives the tip to walk to the S-Bahn, to the train stations Riem and Feldkirchen (S 2) and to Trudering (S 4 and S 6).
Drink plenty of water and pack a rain poncho
Of course, running for kilometers and standing for a long time at the concert can lead to unexpected suffering, as Markus Bauer, head of operations at the Johanniter, warns. “At Andreas Gabalier’s concerts in the past, we gave out band-aids by the meter because brogues hadn’t broken in yet or the pumps with a dirndl caused blisters.” The Johanniter and their partners are with around 100 volunteer doctors and paramedics, spread over five stations, in the fair.
From experience, Bauer advises preparing well for the evening. In addition to good shoes, he recommends drinking plenty of non-alcoholic beverages (there are no free water points, however), applying sunscreen (little shaded areas) and packing a rain poncho because the weather forecast says it could rain and umbrellas are forbidden on the site, as are bags larger than one Din-A 4-sheet.
In the end, everyone is responsible for themselves, or as Andreas Gabalier put it at the press conference: “Only go through life as fast as your angel can fly.”