Wacken Open Air | |
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Genre | |
Location(s) | Wacken, Germany |
Years active | 1989–2019, 2022–present |
Website | wacken.com |
Wacken Open Air (/ˈvɑːkən/, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1989 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and subgenres of hard rock and metal are represented and hosted.[1] It is now one of the largest heavy metal festivals in the world and one of the largest open-air festivals in Germany. Between 2011 and 2018, the number of attendees was around 85,000, 75,000 of whom were paying visitors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no 2020 and 2021 editions of Wacken Open Air.