Yes, we are a major festival, but supporting new talent has been in the Wacken Open Air DNA ever since. What started with the „Wacken Evolution Tent“ (where we showcased lesser known artists back in the days) has now become the W:O:A Metal Battle. The worlds biggest competition for heavy newcomers gave the scene bands such as Battle Beast, who had their big break by winning the Metal Battle on the holy ground.

With the Wacken Foundation we have been helping hundreds of bands along their way. That starts with giving them something simple as a feedback on their newest music or offering them coaching from our network of professionals and ends with giving them loans for producing a new record, making a video or going on tour.

If you have ever been to Wacken or checked out one of our web pages, you probably have noticed, that doing something good has played a big role in our history as well. We’re actively supporting blood donations, bone marrow donations, inclusion, projects against homelessness and much more and feature these organizations on the festival site.

We can proudly say that all of these good things have been made possible by one thing only: your support. And we would absolutely love to continue giving something back to the scene in the future.

For us Wacken Open Air is not only a matter of the heart but also the best job in the world. And we’d like to keep it that way for the next decades, quite frankly. Also many businesses here in the village and all throughout northern Germany are closely connected with the festival by offering services for our visitors. Trading your tickets for 2022 will offer perspective to the people living and working in the area and also help keeping Wacken what it is - the centre of the Heavy Metal universe in a small village.