Festival Elbjazz 2025 cancelled
The Elbjazz Festival Takes a Break in 2025 for a Refresh
Despite attracting more than 22,000 attendees this year, the Hamburg Elbjazz Festival will be canceled next year. The organizer announced this on Tuesday in a press release.
One reason for the temporary hiatus is recruitment difficulties for top-tier Jazz headliners for 2025. The organizer stated that compromises on the lineup, which they felt muddied their "musical vision," were not an option.
A Fresh Approach with No Deadlines
There are also talks of a strategic overhaul, for which the organizers wanted time without pressure. The musical concept is to be reconsidered and reworked as the genre-spanning approach of the past two years, according to the organizer, has reached its limits. Reports from FINK.Hamburg in 2023 also pointed towards a drift in the lineup towards pop, away from jazz.
Apart from music, the overhaul will also address increasing production costs and strive for a more sustainable festival structure.
Elbjazz Returns in 2026
For Elbjazz fans, there's already something to look forward to, as the next festival date is already set. The Elbjazz will take place as usual on May 5th and 6th, 2026, at various locations in Hamburg.
Tickets purchased for 2025 will remain valid for 2026 or can be returned for a refund. Ticket pre-sales for new tickets are already open.
The Elbjazz Festival is one of the largest Jazz festivals in Germany. Since 2010, it has offered more than 50 international acts at various venues along the Elbe, attracting over 20,000 visitors annually.
Pauline Claussen
Pauline Claussen, born in 1999 in Darmstadt, has already high-fived Kraftklub singer Felix during a crowd surf. She studied music and English language teaching in Oldenburg. While studying, she worked in musical early education, serving tables, and even served Klaas Heufer-Umlauf beer and Guenther Jauch champagne. On the Indonesian island of Lombok, she once swapped places with a tired taxi driver and drove herself to the next hostel. She is a wedding singer, loves musicals, and plays poor tennis. Pauline initially aspired to be a cultural journalist, but her interests are too varied - she's not picking a side anymore. Her abbreviation: pac
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Next year will be a hiatus for the Elbjazz Festival, providing an opportunity to reconsider and rework the festival's musical concept, which has notably drifted towards pop. Amidst the strategic overhaul, the organizers will also focus on addressing increasing production costs and aiming for a more sustainable festival structure, ensuring a fresh approach for the music-loving attendees in 2026.
