ArianeGroup created a buzz at the Wacken Open Air heavy metal music festival

From 30 July to 2 August, the picturesque village of Wacken, to the north of Hamburg, turned into a heavy metal “fan zone”. The event also delighted space aficionados: prominent players of the space industry, including ArianeGroup of course, were in attendance in order to showcase their activities.

The German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI) had decided to organise a “Space Camp” where the Wacken Open Air (W:O:A) festival was be held, in order to promote the space industry among the general public. This included conferences and exhibitions. ArianeGroup employees represented the company and a large Ariane 6 model was displayed right next to the main stage.

Festival-goers visiting the Space Camp were not be mere spectators; they were able to participate in fun activities such as driving a lunar rover to test their dexterity, interactive games involving observation of the planet Earth, and manufacturing water rockets. Another event highlight was the appearance of two ESA astronauts on the W:O:A stage: Alexander Gerst, who has flown in space twice, and Rabea Rogge, the first German woman to travel to space last April. In addition to ArianeGroup, HyImpulse, OHB, POLARIS Spaceplanes and many other companies and institutions were represented.

Wacken Open Air is one of the biggest and most iconic metal festivals in the world. Organised for the first time in 1990 with only 800 people, the event currently brings together 85,000 fans who, every year, travel from all over the world to Wacken, a small town of 2,000 inhabitants in Schleswig-Holstein. The 2025 sold-out event was held from 30 July to 2 August (festival tickets were gone in eight weeks), with stars such as Guns N’Roses, Gojira, Machine Head, Papa Roach and, of course… ArianeGroup!