Celebrating 30 years louder than hell: exploring commercial and social 'Host Event Zone' developments of the heavy metal festival Wacken Open Air. Issue 1 (1st January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bohn, Dorothee; de Bernardi, Cecilia
• Is Part Of: Annals of leisure research. Volume 25:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 116
• Page End: 137
• Publication Date: 2022-01-01
• Subjects: Music festival -- host event zone (HEZ) -- Wacken Open Air Festival -- heavy metal -- neo-tribes; Leisure -- Periodicals; Recreation -- Periodicals; Sports -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Tourism -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 306.481205
• DOI: 10.1080/11745398.2020.1825972
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1174-5398

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Although respective research has proliferated, little attention has been given to the processual nature of festivals. By drawing upon the concept of host event zones, we examine how different spectators perceive the development of the heavy metal festival Wacken Open Air (WOA) with respect to the dynamics between the festival as a temporary place in which visitors enjoy spectacle and ritual, a commercial site and the everyday living space of local inhabitants. WOA has grown in 30 years from an initiative by a few friends for devoted metal fans into an internationally renowned music mega-event. WOA represents a consumption mediated 'peaceful utopia' where festivalgoers find social meaningfulness in neo-tribes. However, the accelerating mainstream appeal of Wacken Open Air for a non-metal fan audience, which significantly spurt by the media, challenges both regular attendees' experience of this idealized space and the relationship between the host community and the festival.