Features
UK & Europe: 2024 On Sale Success For Kendal Calling & Wacken Open Air
Kendal Calling Sells Out In Record Time
Some festivals out there, thanks to their loyal audiences, seem impervious to crises, whether it’s lockdowns, inflations or tempests. Two examples, one from the UK, and one from mainland Europe, Germany.
Kendal Calling in England’s Lake District took place for the 17th time this year, July 27-30, with a lineup that featured Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Kasabian, Royal Blood, Blossoms, Kaiser Chiefs, Scouting For Girls, Rick Astley, Circa Waves, Melanie C, Natalie Imbruglia, and more.
All of these 17 editions sold out, which today amounts to some 40,000 tickets sold. Fans of the festival decided to continue this long-standing tradition, and bought up all tickets for the 18th Kendal Calling, Aug. 1-4, 2024, in record time – which meant almost half of all tickets sold at the time of writing.
The event seems to have found the perfect mix of world-class artists, breakthrough bands, DJs, and comedians, alongside a plethora of other cultural offerings and art installations appealing to all ages, including the specially curated Kids Calling.
Andy Smith, co-founder of Kendal Calling, said, “Whether it’s the atmosphere on site, the fewest abandoned tents in the campsite, the amount raised for charity, the volume of euphoric feedback, everything points to this being the best festival yet – and yesterday’s record on-sale proves it. We’ve spent a fantastic weekend in the fields with a wonderful bunch of people and we can’t wait to start planning next year and doing it all over again.”
‘Bringing Artists To Beautiful Locations’: Q’s With Andy Smith, Co-Founder Of Kendal Calling
Wacken 2024 Sells Out In 4.5 Hours
Over in Europe, Wacken Open Air reported selling out all available 85,000 tickets for it 2024 edition in 4.5 hours.
This sign of loyalty means especially much after this year’s edition, which was marred by heavy rainfalls that forced promoters to introduce an arrival ban early on.
However, the incessant rain in the lead up to Wacken Open Air 2023 wasn’t enough to dampen fans’ spirits. As is tradition, tickets for an upcoming Wacken edition are released the moment the present edition closes. This year, the 2024 presale began on Sunday, Aug. 6, at 8 p.m. local time, and at 12.30 a.m. on Aug. 7, organizers already announced sold out for what will be the festival’s 33rd edition, taking place in the German town of Wacken, July 31-Aug. 3, 2024.
Parts of the lineup have already been revealed. Wacken 2024 will feature German hard rock legends Scorpions, Swedish metal stars Amon Amarth, as well as In Extremo, Mayhem, Blind Guardian, Pain, Beast In Black, Watain, and Bury Tomorrow.
See: Wacken To Unveil Lemmy Shrine
Wacken co-founder Holger Hübner commented, “We are more than grateful for the trust of our fans. The metalheads know that we will give our best to offer them a terrific show, this time following the overall theme of ‘Witches & Warlocks’. We are very happy about the positive reactions to the program already announced with Scorpions and Amon Amarth among others. And there will be more highlights to come!”
Co-founde Thomas Jensen added, “Especially after the difficult start of the festival this summer, when a part of our metal family could not join the celebration, we appreciate that the community stands with us and sticks together. The fact that all 85,000 tickets are now gone is simply awesome. The metalheads are the best!”