Wacken Open Air 2024: 85,000 celebrate the loudest festival of the summer in perfect weather

The festivities are in full swing! Supported by sunny weather conditions, 85,000 fans celebrate the greatest, loudest metal party of the year. The metalheads had already stormed their “Holy Ground” on Wednesday during the annual opening ritual – traditionally the starting signal for the main stage program.

Highlights so far include the Scorpions‘ brilliant show at their third appearance as W:O:A headliners on Thursday, with classics such as “The Zoo“, “Blackout” and “Rock You Like A Hurricane“. Metal queen Doro herself joined the band on stage for “Big City Nights“. In Extremo, the headliners on Wednesday, also caused a sensation, ending their gig with a spectacular fireworks display.

Very surprisingly and unannounced, German superstar Peter Maffay appeared on the Wacken stage in the afternoon – as a secret guest of Bülent Ceylan & Band for the song “Anders gleich“. Promoter Holger Hübner comments: “We are delighted that Peter Maffay has come to us at Bülent Ceylan’s invitation. I’m sure nobody expected this. The surprise was a success!”

The unique and sensational artist Suzi Quatro was also a guest this year, much to the delight of Thomas Jensen, also promoter of the W:O:A: “Suzi has been one of the legendary figures in rock’n’roll since the seventies. Not only has she written countless classics, but also opened doors for other women in the business. It was an honor to welcome her to Wacken.“

Other notable performances included the up-and-coming sisters trio The Warning, veterans Accept and Rage – the latter with a show to mark their 40th anniversary – and cellist Tina Guo. Blind Channel celebrated a wild moshpit party, Anneke van Giersbergen enchanted the audience with a special concert in the Metal Church and rapper Alligatoah gave full rein to his passion for metal at his second Wacken appearance.

2024 also marks 20 years of the Wacken Metal Battle: one of the biggest band competitions for heavy music worldwide and an essential part of the Wacken Open Air. 30 bands from all corners of the world competed against each other in the final at the W:O:A. A jury of 40 experts chose the winners, who were announced at an emotional press conference on Friday: Thus from Denmark won the race.

“Over 20 years, Wacken Metal Battle has grown into an institution in our international community,” comment Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen. “It always gets to us when we experience the colorful community and the pure joy of everyone!”

Established rock and metal legends also visit Wacken every year. From now on, they will even be immortalized there: At the Wacken Walk Of Legends, greats of the scene leave their handprints in concrete slabs, which are embedded in the ground at the entrance to the Landgasthof, located in the heart of the village – similar to the “Hollywood Walk Of Fame”, only in Holstein and with louder music. The Scorpions, Doro and Anthrax singer Joey Belladonna kicked things off on W:O:A Thursday.

A midnight highlight was the drone show in combination with the Growling Creatures conservation project, in which more than 400 drones were used to draw various images in the night sky above the Main Stage.

Overall, festival bosses Hübner and Jensen draw an extremely positive interim conclusion:

“The 33rd Wacken Open Air is running smoothly, quiet and exceptionally peaceful, for which we thank the best fans in the world! We are particularly pleased that the new arrival system is working and has made it easier and quicker for guests to get to the site. This certainly meant a change for everyone that we had to get used to, but it was worth it. We would also like to thank the Metalheads for this. We wish everyone at the Holy Ground the best time of the summer. Celebrate the music as only you can!”

Further highlights are just around the corner: among others, nu-metal icons Korn will be making their first ever appearance at W:O:A this Friday, while Gene Simmons and his solo band will be playing their first German concert since the end of Kiss. On Saturday, Amon Amarth, Architects and Behemoth, among others, await the fans before the grand finale showdown between Hämatom and Finch.