Every year, in an otherwise obscure part of Germany, the village of Wacken welcomes streams of metal music pilgrims to its corner of the world for a music festival that has become the calling card for what’s in and what’s not in the metal niche of the music industry.

So when the 2020 edition was cancelled due to Germany’s restriction on large gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was to the massive disappointment of thousands of fans and enthusiasts.

Wacken Open Air goes Wacken World Wide

Thankfully, the spirit of innovation and resilience that the metal music industry is never in short supply of, has now come up with the idea to not cancel the concert, but instead, perform it remotely, to be streamed for free to anyone with an internet connection!

This is largely thanks to sponsorship deals from partners, of whom a headline partner is crypto gaming portal Bitcasino, who has generously stepped in to make the free event possible.

And so, from July 29th to August 1st 2020, Wacken Open Air for the first time in 2020 will be now Wacken World Wide!

Metal never dies

Wacken celebrated its 31st edition last year, having first launched in 1990 when two friends living in the town decided to show off their talents. From their initial pub crawling days, playing to tavern drinkers and biker meetings, to organizing the first open air concert in a gravel pit used by the 3,000-member strong ‘No Mercys’ biker gang, the Wacken Open Air event has been a Mecca for rock and metal music ever since.

From barely 800 visitors in their first editions, today, it is recognized as one of the biggest metal festivals globally, and the biggest open air event in Germany, with up to 85,000 visitors in the period from 2011-2018, the majority of which were paying visitors. Last year’s event was the 14th consecutive Wacken concert to be completely sold out.

From local artists and part-timers, they now boast international outfits such as Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden and Kreator, all of whom are performing for the virtual edition.

Tauri Tiitsaar, Director of Casino at Bitcasino.io, reflected on the impressive spirit of innovation displayed by the guys at Wacken, who have done everything in their power to ensure the event, which brings so much joy and entertainment to so many, continue despite the current physical limitations. Tauri explained that the similar qualities of Bitcasino and Wacken as innovators made it a perfect pairing:

“We are all about fun, fast and fair entertainment here at Bitcasino, and that’s why we’re putting the pedal to the metal alongside Wacken World Wide.”

Tom Küppers, Marketing Manager at Wacken World Wide spoke of Bitcasino’s support in making the event a reality. Wacken had put in a lot of effort to ensure Wacken World Wide was every bit as powerful and entertaining as Wacken Open Air, with nothing spared to deliver the same quality Wacken is renowned for. He added:

“It is fantastic to see innovative, creative and flexible entertainment coming together during this difficult time, and we can’t wait to welcome metal fans to Wacken World Wide later this month.”

Following the success of its sponsorship of COVID-19 virtual charity festival D3 in May, Bitcasino hopes millions more will benefit from the metal fix of Wacken World Wide.