Teller Report

He is in place in the mud chaos at Wacken – without boots

8/3/2023, 11:54:10 AM

Highlights: Mud at the Wacken Open Air Festival has forced organisers to close the festival to the public. More than 50,000 tickets have been sold for the festival. The festival is expected to run until the end of the month. It is not known if the festival will be able to continue after the mud is cleaned off. The weather has been forecast to be rainy for the rest of the week, but the festival is not expected to be affected by the weather. The event is being run by a non-profit organisation called the Wacky Mudders.

The mud chaos at the metal festival Wacken has meant that visitors are denied entry to the festival for safety reasons. One person who managed to get to the festival is Mattias Persson. "It would have been tasteful if they sent wheel loaders here and scraped the aisles clean so it was possible to walk," he says.


Mattias Persson is one of the 50,000 visitors who managed to get to the rain-affected Wacken open air. The festival started on Wednesday but he has not yet entered the festival area from the campsite due to the mud.

"Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get hold of boots and it's a bit boring when it goes over my ankles. I'm still waiting to tip over," he says.

But today he will pluck up the courage to see the Swedish death band Dark Tranquility, even though he has no boots.

"I expect mud up to the lower part of my calves," he says, almost falling over in the slippery mud.

Withdrawn cars with tractor

85,000 tickets have been sold for the festival, but on Wednesday the management announced that no more visitors will be allowed in. It is not considered safe to let in more visitors than that.

"I understand them. Many people come by car and all the parking spaces are a big mud gruel, so they will have to pull out just about every car with a tractor because they will not be able to drive from there themselves. They've even pulled them in as well.

Despite the chaos of the mud, Mattias and his gang keep their spirits up.

"You don't want to be grumpy and whiny at a festival. It has to be as good as it gets. But it would have been tasteful if they sent wheel loaders here and scraped the aisles clean so it was possible to walk.