Virtual Wacken For Euro 14.90

CTS Eventim has announced it will charge fans euro 14.90 (about $23) to virtually spend three days at this year’s Wacken Open Air in Germany.

The 70,000 or so tickets for the real thing – scheduled for July 31 to August 2 with a lineup that includes Iron Maiden, As I Lay Dying, Children Of Bodom, Hatebreed, Opeth and Soilwork – sold out several weeks ago.

The press bulletin said three companies are joining forces for this "broadcasting first."

CTS is providing the virtual tickets for the live stream and handling the payment side of things. Tempodome.com, a specialist in interactive live streaming, will be responsible for the actual transmission of the open-air event on the Internet, and Wacken will broadcast the stream on its Rockalarm.com portal.

Tickets for the virtual version are euro 14.90 for a three-day pass, euro 4.90 for July 31 only, euro 6.90 for August 1 and euro 7.90 for August 2.

CTS new media vice president Malte Blumenthal said WOA has "enjoyed a special place among music festivals worldwide for many years" and he’s thrilled the event is branching out into new paths.

Festival director Thomas Jensen, who’s trying to export the Wacken brand worldwide, is pleased that all rock fans will have a chance to sample the legendary German outdoor.

Other acts on the WOA bill included Nightwish, Lordi, Avenged Sevenfold, Mortal Sin, Ensiferum, Sonata Arctica, and Sabaton.