Blood for admission – that's the principle. Anyone who donates blood at one of the eight locations listed below from 13 September onwards will be giving the gift of life and receiving a ticket to a Heaven Shall Burn concert. Together, we will show that metalheads can do more than just party: they can take responsibility, stick together and make a statement.
Kickoff event in Hamburg on September 13, 2025
On Saturday, September 13, from 10 AM to 4 PM, the kickoff event of the “pay with your blood” campaign will take place at the Universitätsklinikum Hamburg Eppendorf (UKE).
Special guests are LORD OF THE LOST, who will perform an acoustic set at noon and afterwards be available to donate blood.
The event is supported by guitarist VanSteef, the Wacken Foundation, and Metality e.V., who will host additional activities on site.
If you want to donate blood, please register HERE in advance – if you can’t, mustn’t, or don’t want to donate you're also welcome to the kickoff event.
A special treat awaits W:O:A 2025 attendees and blood donors in Hamburg:
Anyone who brings their festival wristband to the blood donation will receive an exclusive “Blood Donor” T-shirt additionally.
Your blood donation can save lives!
Join us and LORD OF THE LOST in making a statement for life.
Pay with your Blood x Heaven Shall Burn - Heimat over Europe!
Pay with your Blood is entering its second round with Heaven Shall Burn. Eight locations in Germany will be featured as part of the 2026 European tour for the current album ‘Heimat’. What makes this special is that you can ‘donate’ your admission fee starting on 13 September 2025. Blood for tickets – that's the motto. People who are unable or unwilling to donate can, of course, purchase their tickets online in advance.
The following concerts and dates:
- 27 February 2026 in Hamburg
- 28 February 2026 in Cologne
- 6 March 2026 in Stuttgart
- 7 March 2026 in Wiesbaden
- 13 March 2026 in Berlin
- 14 March 2026 in Jena
- 20 March 2026 in Dresden
- 21 March 2026 in Munich
How it works:
- From 13 September 2025, you can donate whole blood at the eight participating locations.
- In recognition of your commitment, you will receive a ticket to a Heaven Shall Burn concert – Heimat over Europe! as part of their European tour.
- Only while stocks last.
- Of course, you will also receive a stamp in your official W:O:A blood donation passport.
- Included: the good feeling of saving lives.
Put your heart into it
Getting Heaven Shall Burn on board as patrons for ‘Pay with Your Blood’ means a lot to Wacken Open Air founders Thomas Jensen and Holger Hübner, as the band has been involved in social projects for years and also fits the concept particularly well due to their professional background. The guys from Heaven Shall Burn are truly passionate about the cause – especially singer Marcus Bischoff, who is a trained nurse working in an intensive care unit in Thuringia and knows exactly how important blood donations are.
You can donate blood here
| 01 | Dresden | Haema Blutspendezentrum Dresden |
| 07 | Jena | Universitätsklinikum Jena |
| 10 | Berlin | Zentrum für Transfusionsmedizin und Zelltherapie Berlin |
| 20 | Hamburg | UKE Hamburg |
| 50 | Köln | Kliniken Köln |
| 55 | Mainz (Wiesbaden) | Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg- Universität Mainz |
| 70 | Stuttgart | Klinikum Stuttgart |
| 80 | München | Blutspendedienst des Bayrischen Roten Kreuzes |
More than a concert – a statement
The ‘Pay with your blood’ campaign has long since developed into a movement. Anyone who has been there knows the feeling: the atmosphere. The community. And the clear message: every donation counts. Last year, voices from the community were already getting louder: ‘If there were more shows like this, if there were more opportunities to get tickets like this, I would take advantage of it!’ says a young metalhead during a short break from the mosh pit, expressing his support for the campaign to continue.
Metalheads are taking responsibility. Because donating blood is not a trend. It's for you, for others – for all of us. The campaign aims to raise awareness. Because blood reserves are urgently needed. The aim is to attract new donors, honour regular donors and fill the blood banks. The Wacken community has been proving its excellence in this area for over 13 years with various blood donation campaigns: most recently, W:O:A teamed up with the ZTB at Charité to invite people to give blood in Berlin as part of the Bloody X-Mas Market. This was a special kind of Christmas market that encouraged people to donate blood with acoustic shows by Saltatio Mortis and Beyond The Black. And because they wanted to do double the good before Christmas, all proceeds were donated to the Charité's paediatric oncology department.
