Live Nation GSA (Germany, Switzerland, Austria) officials have blamed production challenges created by this summer’s busy festival market for the decision to cancel next month’s Download Germany 2023.
The hard rock festival attracted 65,000 fans when it was held in Germany for the first time in 2022 and was set to return in 2023 with headliners including Slipknot, The Prodigy and Volbeat. The expanded two-day event was again scheduled to take place from June 23-24 at the Hockenheimring racetrack in Baden-Württemberg.
A statement issued by Download Germany said that “technical production obstacles proved to be insurmountable”.
Organisers added: “Until the very end, they tried to realise the festival for the fans of Download Germany. Despite the first-class line-up, the massive number of open-air events made organisation and implementation considerably more difficult this summer.”
Download Germany 2023 in Hockenheim abgesagtFans bekommen Tickets zurückerstattet
Mit Bedauern gab der Veranstalter heute die Absage des Festivals bekannt. Alle Informationen findet ihr hier: https://t.co/4AMyRrVfAc pic.twitter.com/0Z8YDuw4dJ— Download Germany Festival (@DownloadGermany) May 30, 2023
Live Nation GSA said all tickets already purchased in advance will be automatically refunded by Ticketmaster in the next few days.
Industry observers believe a combination of increased costs, reduced consumer spending and market saturation caused by new shows competing with those postponed during the pandemic have been the main reasons for a number of cancellations already this year. Last week, Midnight Sun Weekender, a new music festival that was set to take place on the Isle of Lewis, was cancelled due to a lack of ticket sales, with others in the UK, mainland Europe and beyond also called off.
Download Germany became the rock festival brand’s latest sister event when it launched last year, with events having also been held in Scotland, France, Japan, Australia and Spain since the Donington Park show debuted in 2003.
Download Germany premiered as a one-day event in 2022 with Metallica as headliners.