Image: RTL, Thomas Leidig
Starting July 7, 2023, RTL+ will premiere a series about the legendary metal festival Wacken. Titled "Legend Of Wacken," the series will tell the origin story of the internationally renowned open-air meeting in the small village of Wacken.
In the series, the two founders, Thomas Jensen and Holger Hübner, will be the main characters, portrayed by actors Charly Hübner and Aurel Manthei. The announced season will consist of six episodes.
The plot revolves around Holger Hübner, who falls into a coma due to an electric shock at one of the festivals. To stimulate him to awaken through emotions, his friend and colleague recounts their adventurous endeavor of launching Wacken Open Air (W:O:A). The story covers the festival's journey from 1989 to today, from an unknown village in northern Germany to a cult festival of the metal scene.
The Origin Story Of Wacken
The first edition of the Wacken festival took place in 1990, shortly after the two founders came up with the idea of making some serious noise in their peaceful cow village. No one could have expected at the time that this venture would become so successful. The dominant genres were to be metal and rock from the start. It was also important to them that there was an option for overnight camping, which was not yet common at other German festivals. In 1990, the famous cow skull logo by Mark Ramsauer was also created. The first Wacken Open Air had fewer than a thousand visitors, but the numbers grew year by year. Sometimes they even made a loss, but that did not deter the organizers from their mission.
By 1992, big bands like Saxon were on the lineup, while the lineup continued to grow. Originally, the open air was still organized in a gravel pit of the Wacken community, which soon became impossible due to the increasing size of the festival. Today, it takes place on a field, as most know and love it. The number of visitors today is around 75,000 and was even reported to have risen to over 80,000 in 2022! Now, Thomas Jensen and Holger Hübner can look back on over thirty years of Wacken history. Clearly, that's enough material to fill a few episodes of a series. We are very excited to see the result that will soon be presented to us.
Broadcast Dates For “Legend Of Wacken”
So you don’t miss any episodes, here are the broadcast dates:
Episode 1: Painkiller
- Wed, July 12, 20:15 - 21:00
- Thu, July 13, 01:00 - 01:30
Episode 2: Future World
- Wed, July 12, 21:00 - 22:00
- Thu, July 13, 01:30 - 02:00
Episode 3: Paradise City
- Wed, July 12, 22:00 - 22:50
- Thu, July 13, 02:00 - 02:50
Episode 4: Sacrifice
- Thu, July 13, 20:15 - 21:10
- Fri, July 14, 01:00 - 01:45
Episode 5: Back In Black
- Thu, July 13, 21:10 - 22:05
- Fri, July 14, 01:45 - 02:25
Episode 6: All for Metal
- Thu, July 13, 22:05 - 23:00
- Fri, July 14, 02:25 - 03:05
Enjoy watching and getting nostalgic!
