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07 August 2022

Iron Maiden Confirmed To Headline 2023 Wacken Open Air Festival

Iron Maiden Behind The Scenes Legacy Tour
Photo: Gonzales Photo/Alamy Stock Photo
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British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden will headline next year’s edition of Germany’s Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place from 2 to 5 August 2023. Other bands on the bill include Megadeth, Dropkick Murphys, Jinjer and Deicide.

Wacken Open Air takes place annually in the village of Wacken, which has a population of just about 2,000. Despite this, up to 85,000 people now attend the event, which is 32 years old.

The first Wacken Open Air event in 1990 drew less than 800 people, but it has since grown to become the biggest open-air festival of its kind. Around 30 per cent of festival goers travel from other countries, which over recent years has been growing in popularity.

200 bands performed at this year’s Wacken Open Air, including headliners Slipknot, Powerwolf and Judas Priest. During 2019 and 2020, the event was forced to take a break for two years due to coronavirus restrictions.

Wacken normally does not announce the names of its headliners before tickets go on sale. However, the festival usually sells out within hours. The festival also doesn’t sell VIP access or upgrades and all purchases are for all the days without a single-day ticket option, something they did away with nearly two decades ago.

Elsewhere in Iron Maiden, Derbyshire’s Bloodstock Festival is holding a special art and photography exhibition in celebration of the legendary hard rock outfit this year. Illustrator Mark Wilkinson will be displaying a range of his impressive work for the British metal icons across the years. Maiden’s official photographer, John McMurtrie will also have a wall of his spectacular imagery, with a dozen shots from the ‘Legacy Of The Beast’ tour & a Bruce Dickinson ‘Trooper’ print, all authorised and approved by the band themselves.

So far, the following artists have been confirmed for the 2023 edition of Wacken Open Air:

IRON MAIDEN
MEGADETH
THE DROPKICK MURPHYS
WARDRUNA
JINJER
BEARTOOTH
TWO STEPS FROM HELL
ENSIFERUM
DEICIDE
PENTAGRAM
NERVOSA
BURNING WITCHES

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