The lack of staff reaches the Wacken Open Air - three bands will not play on the stages at the legendary metal festival.

It's a bit vague, but staff shortages seem to have been a major factor. A statement from the festival reads:

"Dear Metalheads,

the combination of the effects of the corona pandemic and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has now also reached us.

In the last few weeks, many bands, concerts and festivals have had to give up because, for example, the logistics have become impossible for them, there was a lack of staff or the sales figures cannot cover the costs in view of inflation. We have been able to keep this away from you so far. After all, you don't get to know which bands have to cancel before their announcement due to problems, and neither do you know about budget overruns.

But now, unfortunately, already announced bands are affected. Unfortunately, Till Lindemann, Death SS and Angel Witch cannot perform as planned.

As is known with the cancellation of other performances at other festivals, the reasons are varied - but mostly there is simply a lack of experienced specialist staff . Many experts have migrated to other sectors, companies and the self-employed have filed for bankruptcy. Anyone who is still there is fully booked for a long time.

The industry has shed its skin

Whether bus driver, backliner or stagehand, the industry has shed its skin. The unplanned absence of individuals, for example due to injury or illness, can ruin entire tours, no matter how well planned they were. In normal years, replacement is not a problem in such cases, but this year the reserve has already been firmly planned inevitably.

By the way – we are also looking for good people!

Despite all the problems: the next announcement of new bands for Wacken Open Air 2022 is currently being finalized. We won't let it get us down and will present you with a fantastic W:O:A 2022.
See you in Wacken - Rain or ShineYour W:O:A Crew"

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