The 36th Wacken Open Air will take place from July 28 to 31, 2027. The organizers announced the date and the first bands at the conclusion of this year's festival. Ticket presales start this Sunday, August 2, at 8 p.m. on metaltix.com and wacken.com.
Five Finger Death Punch will be traveling from the USA, and German metalcore band Electric Callboy will also be performing on the Wacken stage. Also announced are Helloween, Heaven Shall Burn, and Napalm Death. According to the organizers, DragonForce will play their only European festival appearance in Schleswig-Holstein in summer 2027.
Halestorm is coming with siblings Lzzy and Arejay Hale, Alissa White-Gluz will perform with her band Blue Medusa, and Belphegor will bring their Sanctus Bestiam Procession. The list of confirmed acts so far includes around 50 names, among them Avatar, Children of Bodom, Edguy, Feuerschwanz, Hammerfall, Jinjer, Overkill, and U.D.O.
New Ticket for Fans Up to Age 25
At launch, the Faster ticket is available in a bundle with a T-shirt for 349 euros, limited to 10,000 pieces. Subsequently, the Harder ticket also costs 349 euros, available for 14 days or while supplies last. After that, the Louder category applies at 364 euros.
For the first time, the organizers are offering a Younger ticket for 279 euros. It is limited and reserved for visitors up to and including age 25. All tickets include a 2-euro ticket fee. As in previous years, guests can access the camping areas starting Sunday, and a warm-up program is planned for the three additional days. Access passes for arrival by car, van, or RV will be available starting spring 2027, while sales of special camping products begin at the end of this year.
85,000 Fans at the Anniversary
The anticipation stems from an edition that was thoroughly successful according to the organizers. For the 35th anniversary, 85,000 metalheads came to Wacken, with more than 200 acts performing on the Harder and Faster dual stages as well as seven additional stages. The program included Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Savatage, In Flames, Powerwolf, Sabaton, and Hämatom, among others. Two performances were particularly rare: Running Wild said goodbye with their very last show ever, and Sepultura gave their final concert in Germany.
Authorities Report Positive Results
At the final press conference, organizers, authorities, and service providers expressed satisfaction. "The weather cooperated this year, we saw some fantastic and emotional performances", said organizer Thomas Jensen, admitting that he himself fought back tears during Sepultura's farewell. Co-organizer Holger Hübner also pointed to the smaller stages: "The booking team once again had the right instinct on all levels."
Managing Director André Jürgens highlighted feedback about the grounds: "The atmosphere on the site over the past few days was consistently positive." Ground plates and covers were laid over roughly 10,000 square meters. An 850-meter-long paved rescue route is now a permanent feature of the festival, which guests can also use as a connection between camping areas and Wacken Plaza.
Despite midsummer temperatures, emergency services reported a calm situation. At the time of the press conference, around 200 ambulance transports to the Itzehoe hospital had been counted, a figure on par with previous years. The fire department had comparatively few deployments and incidentally rescued a buck that had gotten lost in the forest.
According to a press release, the Wacken Open Air proceeded "overall predominantly calmly" for the police. The number of deployments was slightly higher than the previous year, "which can be attributed among other things to several support operations, for example for the emergency services. At the same time, the police registered a slight decrease in crimes compared to the previous year that occurred during the event period and in connection with the festival activities."
