WACKEN OPEN AIR 2025 - The journey to the loudest party of the year has begun

As in the previous year, guests were able to arrive on Sunday already, a new option that proved very popular. Despite rain until midday, the first arrivals of metal fans went without incident. Thanks to the new concept introduced in 2024 and the great fans and work of the crew, the arrival has so far gone according to plan.

Once the sun had made its way through the clouds, the party got underway. In the evening, bands from the early days of the festival played at the legendary Landgasthof, the restaurant/pub in the center of the village where the W:O:A was once founded. Among the groups playing was Skyline, the former combo of festival founder Thomas Jensen. At the same time, his partner and co-founder Holger Hübner was playing tunes on the Welcome To The Jungle Stage as DJ Hüby, partying with the first arrivals to rock and metal classics.

“We are looking forward to the coming days and are grateful to be able to celebrate Wacken Open Air for the 34th time with artists, friends and the best community in the world,” explains Holger Hübner at the start of the W:O:A week. Thomas Jensen adds: "Once again, our great team has put together a festival that we are really proud of. The bands, the supporting program, but above all our fans, of course, make the Wacken Open Air the best place we can imagine."

The line-up for the 34th edition of W:O:A includes top-class acts such as Machine Head, Papa Roach, Gojira, King Diamond, Within Temptation and Saltatio Mortis, plus countless other bands of all rocking styles on ten stages. Above all, however, organizers Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen were able to fulfil a long-cherished dream and bring one of the most successful rock bands of all time to Wacken: Guns N' Roses! The US hard rockers around frontman Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan will celebrate their big tour finale on the Harder Stage on Thursday and have announced a set lasting more than three hours.

Even beyond the big stages, metalheads will once again be offered an extraordinary supporting program: in addition to readings like the one by bestselling author Sebastian Fitzek and comedy shows by the likes of Olaf Schubert, there will be a Space Camp at the festival for the first time. Here, space companies and experts from science and research will bring fans a little closer to the stars. Highlights will certainly be the visits by astronauts Alexander Gerst and Rabea Rogge.

Exclusive insights into the world of W:O:A and information about the event are now available in the new issue of “The Bullhead”, the official festival magazine. Metalheads visiting Wacken as well as all those interested from far away will find exclusive talks with the artists, unusual reports from behind the scenes and background information as well as practical things like the site plan and the running order. As always, “The Bullhead” can be found here: free of charge and in both German and English.