Wave Gotik Treffen
|
|
Wave Gotik Treffen is an annual Gothic festival for music and arts in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds (Gothic rock, EBM, Darkwave, Apocalyptic folk, Neo classical, Noise, Medieval Music, Death rock) play at several venues throughout the city over 4 days on Whitsuntide. The festival also features several fairs with medieval, gothic and cultural merchandise.
History
A first attempt at a Treffen was made in 1987 in Postdam. However, as the laws of the German Democratic Republic made this kind of event illegal, only a few hundred visitors attended.
In 1992, after the re-unification of Germany, the first official Wave Gotik Treffen was held in the Eiskeller club in Leipzig. Since then, the number of visitors has increased greatly and most well-known bands of the genres favored by visitors have played at the Treffen one year or the other.
The largest installment of the WGT was the one of the year 2000 with over 300 acts and an estimated 27,000 visitors. However, that year's festival suffered financial collapse on the third day and had to be aborted. After all festival security guards, most bands and much of the technical staff had left, volunteer helpers and several bands who played for free staged a final concert with an estimated 5000 people in the audience. Contrary to police expectations, no rioting of any sort occurred and the final day of the festival was celebrated by the remaining visitors in a way that has been compared to the Burning Man.
Since then, the festival has had 18,000 to 21,000 guests per year, most of them returning after previous visits. As the most well-known Goth festival, it draws visitors from all over the world.
External link
- Official Website Wave-Gotik-Treffen Leipzig (http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de/english/)