From Rio to Wacken to Tokyo: Millions of metal fans and music enthusiasts celebrated the first edition of Wacken World Wide last weekend. The organizers of Wacken Open Air (W:O:A) and Telekom developed the world's first mixed-reality-festival. Metal icons such as Sabaton, Heaven Shall Burn, Kreator, Blind Guardian, In Extremo, Hämatom and Beyond The Black performed spectacular live shows on an innovative XR stage specifically built for this event. In addition to these and many more W:O:A favorites as well as promising newcomers, numerous interactive activities and specials were part of the overall programme. 

The biggest Wacken ever was available via the free livestream of MagentaMusik 360. Telekom broadcasted directly to TVs, mobile phones, notebooks, tablets and smartphones all over the world. 11 million live-content-views mark a new record for Magenta Musik 360. The joy about the innovative festival format was great online and in the shared experience with friends and family. On wacken-world-wide.com, via festival app and in social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, fans and artists around the world were enthusiastic and shared their memories. In own Wacken World Wide Peer Camps music enthusiasts from the USA, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Israel, Mexico and Germany, celebrated their own Wacken festival together.        

With the LED-based XR technology (high-resolution LED stage floor and stage backdrop), there is no “keying” as with the green screen. It is possible to bring real light and effects into the virtual world. The artists can react in real time to what is happening on the LEDs around them and thus immerse themselves in this virtual world. The new technology allowed a true-to-original replica of the Wacken double-stage and the integration of the fans, additional details such as head-banging cows were of course not to be missed in a virtual Wacken. 

  

(Photo by: ICS Marketing GmBH)

W:O:A festival co-founder Thomas Jensen on Wacken World Wide:         

“We would like to thank our fantastic fans, our team and our partners, above all, of course, Telekom, to whom we owe this incredible XR stage, who supported us in marketing and broadcasted our program all over the world. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Live Nation Brand Partnership & Media for their commitment in terms of production and licensing, our creative agency Buntmetall, our PR agency Head Of PR and Jung von Matt, who supported us in all creative questions and in brand development. Together we made Wacken World Wide become a success. It is incredibly nice to see how our fans celebrate the heavy metal together, we were able to bring to their homes all over the world. Even though it has been quiet in the village of Wacken this year, we were able to feel and experience the energy and joy of the fans in front of the screens!         

“With this extraordinary concept for the extraordinary times, we were able to generate a overall reach which marks a new record for Magenta Musik 360", explains Michael Schuld, Head of TV and Entertainment at Telekom. “With the new mixed reality stage technology we were able to take the next step in terms of innovation. We have connected fans and artists in Telekom's best network worldwide. Wacken World Wide was a great experience – for every music fan.”    

The world premiere was also very special for Holger Hübner, co-founder of W:O:A festival:

“The first edition of Wacken World Wide was a full success. Together with our fans and partners, we are extremly happy about the varied program and the numerous exciting shows that we have been able to experience in the past few days. Wacken is now at home all over the world!"

The best concerts of 30 years of Wacken Open Air and all Wacken World Wide performances on the XR stage are available on demand via MagentaMusik 360 and MagentaTV. Shows of Wacken Foundation, peer camp clips and selected #WackenWorldWide specials can be found on WackenTV.