24,000 Goths At M’Era Luna

It could probably have staked a claim to be one of the world’s biggest dress parties, as 24,000 Goths converged on the M’Era Luna Festival site in Germany.

FKP Scorpio has staged the event on the Flugplatz Hildesheim-Drispenstedt, a former British Army airbase near Frankfurt, since it founded it in 1997 and annually welcomes 20,000-plus for what appears to be a long-awaited visit into daylight.

Company chief Folkert Koopmans had originally called it Zillo, and run it with the marketing help of the Goth magazine of that name. He renamed it M’Era Luna in 2000.

“The magazine was getting five deutschmarks [about euro 2] for licensing the name to me. Without risk it was getting around what would now be euro 50,000 per year,” he explained. “When they tried to double it, I said I’d switch the name to M’Era Luna. Now the magazine doesn’t get anything.”

He thinks year’s event may have sold more tickets because the bill, which included Placebo and Editors, appealed to a slightly wider audience.

FKP’s remaining summer festivals include Area 4, Highfield, and Chiemsee Reggae.

The other acts showing their darker side Aug. 7-8 included Sisters Of Mercy, Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy, The 69 Eyes, In Extremo, Lacrimas Profundere, Agonoize and Punish Yourself.