(pic credits: WOA Festival GmbH)

120 days left to the beginning of the world’s largest festival for heavy metal, Wacken Open Air. This year the festival edition will be held from July 29th to August 1st. Headliners Judas Priest, Def Leppard, and Powerwolf, as well as other top-tier acts like In Flames, Arch Enemy, Savatage, and many more, will fascinate all metalheads at the W:O:A anniversary – Party On!

The staff is now optimizing the Holy Ground to prevent the terrible mud flowing. After the extreme rain and mud conditions in 2023, when the organizers had to return people with vehicles to their homes, and the bad weather in 2025, they decided to install a plate system in front of the two main stages.

W:O:A founder Thomas Jensen has announced: “We’re covering large parts of the infield with solid slabs!” . “A 10,000-square-meter area in front of the two main stages will be covered up. We’ve never seen anything like this in Wacken before!” “We hope this will ensure good ground conditions for our fans in this heavily used area regardless of the weather, as well as protect the Holy Ground.”

(Graphic shows parts of the W:O:A infield featuring the two main stages, the FOH tower, and planned panels (marked in red) for the audiences in the front of the stages – view from above)

There will be temporarily paved paths on up to 80% of the main routes from the campground to Wacken Plaza. There will be an emergency access road. On the main routes will be string lights featuring bulbs of various colors. An expansion of the paths and ground reinforcement in camping “Wheels Of Steel”. There will be steel plates on the ground.

“It’s important to us to continuously push the festival forward, invest in its various areas, and make tangible improvements for fans again this year,” explains W:O:A founder Holger Hübner.“We’re always trying out new ideas and approaches.”
 Thomas Jensen adds: “Every year, our focus – and that of our entire team – lies on giving our guests, our Wacken family, the best experience possible. We’re already really looking forward to this year’s anniversary edition – 35 years of Wacken! We’re going all out for it! Rain or shine! But preferably more shine.”

(pic credits: WOA Festival GmbH)