Rush for the Wacken Mud Festival: Last Stretch Approaches
Wacken Heavy Metal Festival 2025: A Muddy yet Memorable Event
The Wacken Open Air heavy metal festival, held in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, has concluded despite adverse weather conditions, with 85,000 fans in attendance. The four-day event, which took place from July 27 to July 30, saw performances from a variety of bands, including Doro Pesch, Guns N' Roses, Papa Roach, and Running Wild, who performed their farewell show.
The festival kicked off with up to 39.3 liters of rain per square meter, turning large parts of the festival area into mud and sludge. Despite the challenging conditions, the metal fans created a great atmosphere, as praised by the festival's founder, Thomas Jensen.
Guns N' Roses offered the longest concert in the history of the Wacken festival, lasting three hours. The Osbourne song "Mama, I'm Coming Home" and the Black Sabbath number "Paranoid" were played as a tribute to the late rock icon Ozzy Osbourne.
Those who secured one of the first 10,000 tickets on-site will have the 16 euro price increase credited for food. The ticket prices for next year's Wacken festival will increase from 333 to 349 euros.
The organizers brought in 3,500 cubic meters of wood chips to stabilize the surfaces, and for the departure of the fans, 30 tractors are ready, but self-help efforts from fans are relied upon to avoid further damage to the fields.
The rescue service reported 10 to 15 percent fewer deployments than in 2024, with around 2,800 people being cared for, and 150 fans being taken to a hospital, according to the rescue service chief Volker Böhm. There has been a slight increase in around 150 cases of other incidents, including confused people, at the festival.
The head of the Itzehoe police directorate, Frank Matthiesen, stated that the number of recorded offenses has decreased compared to 2024, from 86 to 68. The event director, Daniel Schlatter, mentioned that the arrival was relaxed and they can handle mud.
Looking ahead to 2026, Def Leppard will be headlining, and Running Wild will perform their farewell show. Sepultura will have their last German festival show as well. The organizers will announce the lineup for 2026 in the evening (around 10:30 PM).
Thomas Jensen mentioned that they have time regarding the possibility of Metallica performing in 2026. The ticket presale for the 2026 event started on August 3, 2025, at 8:00 PM on Metaltix.com. The event is set for July 29 to August 1, 2026.
Notably, the 2026 lineup includes Allt, Airbourne, Any Given Day, Blood Command, Blood Fire Death (a tribute to Bathory, Germany exclusive), Broken By The Scream, Einherjer, Emperor (Best-of Set + As the Shadows Rise Set with original lineup), Europe, Faun, Future Palace, Gutalax, Grand Magus, Insanity Alert, H-Blockx, Kupfergold, In Flames, Lamb of God, Luna Kills, Mantar, Nevermore, Orbit Culture, Paleface Swiss, Pig Destroyer, Powerwolf, Running Wild (farewell show), Savatage, Sepultura (last German festival show), Ten56., The Gathering (exclusive show in Germany in 2026), The Hardkiss, Thundermother, Thrown, and Tryptikon (exclusive special Best Of set with several world live premieres).
Despite the challenging weather conditions, the Wacken Heavy Metal Festival 2025 was a memorable event, showcasing the spirit and resilience of metal fans.
Spectators at the Wacken Heavy Metal Festival, despite the muddy conditions, found entertainment in various sports, such as navigating through the muddy festival grounds or watching playful contests like who can create the biggest mud pie.
Metal fans seeking a break from music could engage in friendly friendlynon-music sports events, organised by fellow attendees, providing added entertainment amidst the memorable Wacken Heavy Metal Festival 2025 experience.
