Wacken Open Air to Hold Free Virtual Festival This Summer
I’m not sure whether Wacken Open Air can lay claim to being the biggest metal festival in the world by numbers (although maybe?) but it’s unquestionably one of the biggest, and absolutely the most highly regarded. In a word, it’s legendary. Which made it all that much more of a bummer for metalheads who travel from all over the world to Wacken that the fest, like all others, won’t be happening this year.
But all hope is not lost: the organizers have hard at work on a free virtual festival instead, and they’ve just announced it will take place from July 29 through August 1, the same weekend the IRL fest had been scheduled for. Redubbed Wacken World Wide, the online festival will feature exclusive band performances, interviews, and a whole host of interactive features, and you’ll be able to experience all of it without having to weave your way through throngs of passed out drunkards on the ground.
From a press release:
“Unique and exclusive shows of W:O:A classics and all time favourites such as Blind Guardian, Heaven Shall Burn, In Extremo, Kreator and Beyond The Black on innovative, spectacular virtual stages, as well as promising newcomers of Wacken Metal Battle and Wacken Foundation result in a brilliant and varied overall programme with exclusive interviews, talk rounds and behind-the-scenes content. The fully digital approach creates mixed reality show concepts exclusively designed for a virtual stage never seen before. With its innovative design and technical implementation this is set to be a world premiere in the live music business!”
