Home News Once Again WACKEN OPEN AIR Festival Gets Postponed

Once Again WACKEN OPEN AIR Festival Gets Postponed

wacken open air 2021, Once Again WACKEN OPEN AIR Festival Gets Postponed

It appears that the world’s largest heavy metal festival, Wacken Open Air, has been postponed once again due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The massive event, planned for the end of July, will not be taking place as scheduled, however dates for the 2022 edition of the festival have been announced for August of next year.

“We bleed our hearts!” Thomas Jensen, boss and founder of the festival, says. “All visitors, musicians and the entire crew have put all their hopes on being able to celebrate together again in Wacken already this year in July, but we have no other choice but to wait a little longer. Health and safety have priority, there are no two opinions.”

His partner and co-founder Holger Hübner adds: “Even if we were able to hold the festival, many people would still not be able to arrive as planned due to travel restrictions. We are an international festival with people travelling to Wacken from over 80 nations. A Wacken Open Air, that’s a festival for the whole world and for that we need open borders without quarantines plus we need safety for all people involved — especially for the people living in the Wacken region.”

The organizers would like to express their gratitude to the patient fans as well as to the authorities, politicians and other people involved who have worked hard to make the festival possible at the end of July.

“The phased plan is an important step in the right direction and will allow many in our long-suffering industry to finally bring culture back to the stages this summer,” Hübner says. “Unfortunately, the openings come too late for our festival, but we are nevertheless very happy about the productive exchange in the districts and throughout the state. Everyone involved has pulled together.”

Ticket exchange to the following year is expected to start middle of June. “As before, we will offer our visitors a choice: They can exchange to 2022 or request a payout,” Sabrina Schmidt from the ticketing team. “Last year, well over 90% of fans opted to exchange to the following year and we are confident that we can continue to rely on the loyalty and trust of our fans. Those who want to support us additionally can also get some new fan gear during the process, which is only available as part of this exchange.”

That being said, the organizers of the festival are currently exploring ideas for a live music event this autumn, but are asking for some patience while they explore and develop the concept.

“We are currently looking into what is feasible and hope that the positive development of the situation will continue,” Jensen says. “If everything goes according to plan, maybe we can host a new event in Wacken this September to help restart live music. But we know for certain that metalheads will return to Wacken in summer 2022!”

Wacken 2022 will be held from August 4 to 6, in Wacken, Germany. More information and details on the dates for September are still to come.