The 32nd edition of the heavy metal festival in Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, has come to an end. 61,000 visitors celebrated there, but according to the organizers, this time there were significantly fewer metal fans than the originally expected 85,000.
Because of the muddy space conditions, the organizers had imposed an admission stop on Wednesday for safety reasons for the first time in the history of the Wacken Open Air (W:O:A). According to the police and organizers, after the rain-related chaos on arrival, the departure initially went without any problems.
Waking in the mud
Metal greats like Iron Maiden, Helloween and Doro Pesch played in the muddy and boulder-laden Wacken this summer. For the first time, the festival lasted four days – there were more than 200 concerts on nine stages. “It hurts us a lot that part of our metal family couldn’t celebrate with us,” said festival co-founder Holger Hübner on Sunday. Unfortunately, this step was unavoidable so that the festival could take place at all. “The real heroes and heroines of the W:O:A are therefore those who stayed at home or had to turn back.”
Co-founder Thomas Jensen emphasized that despite a bad start, “then we managed to get in a good mood”. It was an experience “with countless moments of goosebumps, grandiose concerts and an incredible sense of community”. The great solidarity in the community and far beyond fills the organizers with gratitude.
According to them, anyone who already had a festival ticket but was no longer allowed on the site was given a right of first refusal to buy tickets for the upcoming festival. In addition, the ticket price of 299 euros per person is to be refunded. According to their own statements, the festival organizers are missing out on income of several million euros.
Police: “The safest Wacken Open Air”
On the other hand, there was positive news from the police and rescue services. “That was by far the safest Wacken Open Air – also in relation to the somewhat reduced number of participants, it somehow welded together,” summed up Chief Police Director Frank Matthiesen. Officials registered very few crimes. The head of the rescue team, Volker Böhm, also stated: “Nothing serious happened here.” Paramedics would have provided 2,500 relief services and brought 120 visitors to hospitals.
For the 33rd metal festival next year (July 31 to August 3, 2024), the organizers announced the first 33 bands on Saturday evening – including the Scorpions. The German rock band already played in Wacken in 2012 and will be one of the headliners in 2024. Other performances by Amon Amarth, In Extremo, Blind Guardian and Knorkator are also planned.