It is the most famous Heavy Metal Festival in the world. This year, Wacken Open Air is to 30. Time instead. With Slayer, Anthrax and Sabaton. And to mark this anniversary, writes sustainability on the flags..
Several thousand Metalheads crowding in front of the entrance to the so-called “Holy Ground” of the Wacken Open Air. Five minutes before time to go, suddenly, all the barriers, and there is a Run on the best seats in front of the main starts of stages, the “Faster”, “Harder” and “Louder” hot. It is Thursday, at 13:58. The biggest Heavy Metal Festival of the world has begun.
Laura Morales comes from Guadalajara in Mexico. Together with your friends Abraham and Saul, the 49 want to be-Year-old in the front of the, when the Band Skyline gets going on the “Faster”stage. A few years ago, she was here in Wacken. At that time, she has filled the sacred earth that stuck to their shoes, in a glass. She keeps up today. In the next year you want to travel in the North German province: “The people here are incredibly nice,” she says, “and the Festival has a great atmosphere.”
The Wacken-Fans from Mexico, for the second Time
Wacken – how it all began
Actually, the organisers could increase the size of the Festival. The demand is there. The 75,000 Tickets for 2019 were sold out in just four days. However, Festival boss Thomas Jensen does not want to only expand in time. “Higher, faster, further” is not an issue, instead, he focuses on authenticity and honesty: “We want to preserve the family character and find that we can act so good.”
Thomas Jensen is one of the founding father of the festival. He hails from the 1800-soul town of Wacken in the North German province. Review: in 1989, he waits together with his DJ-friend Holger Hübner and a few other hard rock and Metal Fans that finally something is happening in your home. But it happens nothing. So you have to take the matter into their own hands and are planning an Open-Air Festival, Bassist Thomas Jensen with his Band at that time, Skyline may occur. Said and done: On 24. and 25. August 1990 play, six Bands in front of 800 spectators on a cow pasture in Wacken. The birth of a German myth that is in the world almost as well-known as VW or Franz Beckenbauer.
Festival founder Thomas Jensen predicts Wacken a bright future
Big Stars and the heroes of tomorrow
In the following years, the Festival is becoming bigger and more well-known. Here occurs, what has rank and name in the Metal business: Rammstein, Scorpions, Deep Purple, Status Quo, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Amon Amarth, several times. Motörhead are revered in Wacken, almost religious; they were all eight Times here. Lemmy Kilmister, the front man of the Band, was erected after his death in 2015, even a monument. 2019 190 Bands to play in Wacken on nine stages, including the likes of Sabaton, Slayer, and Anthrax.
Sabaton from Sweden playing the WOA 2019 on two stages at the same time
Great name, but what of the young? Since 2004, they organize Battle here, the Metal, of an international competition, in which 30 Newcomer-Bands from 30 countries to participate – so to speak. Also Trainwreck from Dhaka in Bangladesh. The five musicians are a little upset. They will be on the “History of the Stage” – the stage of 1990, the for the 30. Anniversary of the festival was again made fit. A great honor. “We are the first Band from Bangladesh that has made it to Wacken. Now we want to prove that our country can be as rock good as the whole world”, they say. Even if you don’t win – alone, once-in-a Mecca of the Metals to occur, is for any rock band, the accolade.
Premiere at the Wacken open air for the Band Trainwreck from Bangladesh
Sustainable Future
But Wacken is more than just music. In addition to Metal Yoga, Gaming, Village, film festival, Metal Church and Karaoke Till Death, there is this year for the first time, a “Wacken Future Factory”. It is about socially relevant topics such as sustainability, inclusion, security, festival planning, digitisation and, more generally, of “culture”. The program included Workshops such as “More festival fun by artificial intelligence” or “Wacken between madness and science”.
Inga Wiele takes care of the Wacken Future Factor
Has Wiele organized the Whole thing, among other things, Inga. For you, the Festival is the ideal platform to stimulate and to shape the future. In the case of a “Stammtisch”, it is also the Festival of the future – with a reusable system, Fan-T-Shirts, which can be recycled, and toilet paper without plastic. Approximately 590 tons of waste in Wacken each year, but maybe the music spectacle in a few years, a Zero-Waste Festival.
Wacken forever
Thomas Jensen is pushing ahead with these ideas. He believes that the future of the festival and the Heavy Metal is secured: “We are not on target, we are on the journey through the Metal universe. I always have the feeling that the train is not yet started in earnest. We arrived at the first stop.” The majority of visitors but this is first no matter. You want to have fun above all and loud music. On the stage, especially power wolf burn your program. Prior to this, head banging is the Fans: they shake their manes in the rhythm. Looking to the future, the Party goes on.
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30 years of Wacken: a village at the Metal MeccaThe village is on fire!
Every first weekend in August, explodes the “population” in the tranquil town of Wacken: From around 2000 villagers of 80,000 Metalheads are. The black-clad festival-goers to make the village for a short time to the third largest city in the Federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. The necessary infrastructure to bring the organizers: tent city, showers, toilets, signs and power poles.
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30 years of Wacken: a village at the Metal MeccaMecca for Metalheads
More than 150 Acts, nine stages: “Wacken Open Air”, besides the French “Hellfest” and the Belgian “Graspop Metal Meeting” of the biggest Metal Festivals in the world. International visitors and the Bands. Topact 2019: Slayer. With Songs about Satan and serial killer once-the hardest Band in the world, adopted at the W:O:A in retirement.
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30 years of Wacken: a village at the Metal MeccaHow it all began
In 1990, two Wackener Metal had to devote a musician, the idea of your favorite music in the village gravel pit to a Festival. The pit was tested for mass events, a local motorcycle Club met there, and took over at the beginning, practically the Security. 800 people came at that time, today it is 80,000.
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30 years of Wacken: a village at the Metal MeccaPilgrimage to the “Holy” Land
The festival site of the W:O:A is enormous: More than 330 football fields in size, it takes 45 kilometres of fence. At its heart is the Stage area “Infield” (photo), of the meta-learning, lovingly referred to as the “Holy Land”. And the is no longer any arable land. Rather, drainage, gravel and rollers ensure that the visitors to fall in holes or in the mud disappear.
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30 years of Wacken: a village at the Metal MeccaFaster, harder, louder
According to the manageable beginnings of the Who-is-who of the metal scene travels now to the village. Motörhead, Doro and Iron guests are Maiden, Alice Cooper travelled several times from the US, 2013-heated Rammstein (photo), and Deep Purple. 2018 was a Metal legend Judas Priest headlining. Nine stages will be rocked at the Festival, the three main stages are called “Faster”, “Harder” and “Louder”.
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30 years of Wacken: a village at the Metal MeccaTent city of the Metalheads: order must be
A prejudice can refute the “W:O:A” impressive: Neither Metalheads are particularly violent, the Festival turns into anarchic Chaos. 2016 have just been reported 20 injuries of the body, in 2017, there were only 12, despite the collective beer consumption of up to 10,000 litres per hour. It seems that the peaceful Metalheads would reduce the potential aggression when Headbanging.
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30 years of Wacken: a village at the Metal MeccaTradition: defy the weather
Wacken is a summer festival. However, in the North of Germany, this is not necessarily a guarantee for sunshine. On the contrary: W:O:A regularly falls into the water. The mud is legendary, and ensure battles are reliable for spectacular photos. This year’s weather forecast is still on it: heavy rain, hail and storm. A real Hardcore-the gift of Peter, for 30. Festival anniversary.
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30 years of Wacken: a village at the Metal MeccaParallel Worlds 1: Wasteland
They look…like warriors from the Mad Max movies! Welcome to the Wasteland, a further part of the festival. Is this Area in post-apocalyptic style of the artist collective Wasteland Warriors. The costumes are always made, matched, and make for a beautiful, eerie post-apocalyptic mood.
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30 years of Wacken: a village at the Metal MeccaParallel worlds II: Wackinger Village
Of the end-time future in the past: The Wackinger Village is built like a medieval market and has developed into an independent medieval event. Bagpipes, fire eaters, medieval Rock on their own stage, honey wine in liquor, and on a battle field warriors in full armor.
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30 years of Wacken: a village at the Metal MeccaBeer supply is running!
Beer and thoroughness – these are certainly two of the world’s well-known German stereotypes. At the Wacken Open Air it comes to a stunning symbiosis: a beer Pipeline. In the past, dumped the load in the car, the drink in huge quantities and made for muddy ground. Thanks to kilometers-long Pipeline is the history. Quickly provide fixere beer supply beer pumps.
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30 years of Wacken: a village at the Metal MeccaHallelujah, Wacken!
Most of the villagers are happy in spite of the noise and garbage on the festival time. A lot of help to today – the Build up of cones or space committed. And local shops are happy of course about the rush of visitors. With the village Church. As the “Metal Church” is part of the festival programme with Folk and medieval music and Metal in worship.
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30 years of Wacken: a village at the Metal MeccaThe Pensioner-Rocker
These sprightly seniors are moving to Wacken. For the sixth Time in her old home organized the trip to the Metal Festival already. And, of course, you will master the perfect “French fries fork”, the Wacken-greetings for all on the inside.