The Hanseatic city of Hamburg delivers when it comes to culture, with over 300 cultural institutions and 45 theatres and 60 museums and exhibition houses. With everything from the world’s biggest metal festival, to the largest model railway – there is a museum, festival or exhibition that will appeal to every visitor.
This year the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg’s iconic concert hall, celebrates its fifth anniversary. A Hamburg Tourismus study found that overnight stays in Hamburg increased by more than 15% between January 2017 and late 2019, partially owing to the Elbphilharmonie’s strong appeal. For visitors wanting to experience the concert hall on its anniversary year, they can choose from a number of great concert and shows.
Other great cultural highlights for this year include:
A festival for every music taste:
Hamburg is a destination intrinsically linked with music, with iconic venues and a music history that includes the beginnings of music legends including The Beatles. The festival line-up announcements guarantee that all music fans will once again be sure to find the perfect festival to fit their taste. The season’s highlights include:
Wacken Festival (04 – 06 August) – The world’s biggest metal festival returns this year for its biggest edition to date. Heavy metal fans will descend upon the Hamburg region to enjoy over 150 bands performing at the festival’s eight stages. The three day packed programme will delight metal and rock lovers with a three day filled packed programme of world-class live music. Making their debut Wacken appearance this year are world-famous metal band Slipknot.
Dockville (19 – 21 August) – The 15th edition of Dockville, Hamburg’s annual festival of music and art, will take place this summer with an unprecedented presentation of visual art and musical line-up. There will be over 130 musical acts and more than 22,000 visitors. The seven stages and venues will showcase both local and established artists with new young and up and coming talented artists. The small independent Dockville team will set new standards this year with the “Open-Air-Festival” format.
Reeperbahnfestival (21 – 24 September) – The Reeperbahn Festival, Europe’s biggest club festival, is one of the world’s most important events in the music industry. Music fans looking for the ‘next big thing’ should add this festival to their list. Bon Iver, Jake Bugg, Cro, Casper, Biffy Clyro, Boy or Ed Sheeran – all thrilled audiences on the stages of the Reeperbahn Festival shortly before their big breakthroughs. The 2022 event presents a colourful programme of over 300 concerts, shining the spotlight on the upcoming stars of the music industry.
New exhibitions
8th Triennial of Photography (runs until 18 September) – Every three years, the “Triennial of Photography” turns Hamburg into the place to be for photography enthusiasts and artists from around the world. Twelve major Hamburg art venues with work from 77 international artists are taking part in the Triennial with their own exhibitions about this year’s topic of ‘Currency’.
YULLBE – Hamburg’s new VR experience brings a new way of experiencing Germany’s number one attraction, Miniatur Wunderland. YULLBE WUNDERLAND shrinks guests into the model figure world with the use of high tech VR, allowing them to discover the Wunderland at eye level. With VR goggles and a controller, visitors can move around the 80 square meters of the virtual world. The experience costs 12 euros per person. Other VR experiences are available including YULLBE PRO experiences which use technology for full-body tracking and free-roaming.
The Mystery of Banksy – The Genius Mind (runs until 03 September) – Banksy is the Bristol-born and still anonymous graffiti artist and painter known for challenging the boundaries of the art market. The Mystery of Banksy-A Genius Mind has more than 150 works by the celebrated street artist, from graffiti, photographs, sculptures, video installations and prints.
Ernst Wilhelm Nay. Retrospektive (runs until 07 August) – Ernst Wilhelm Nay is known for his powerful, colour-intensive paintings and has established himself as a permanent fixture in modern art. Despite Nay’s historical significance and his considerable presence in public and private collections, the study of his work has been mostly limited. This new exhibition houses around 120 paintings, watercolours and drawings, and is the first comprehensive Nay exhibition in thirty years.
Further information as well as travel packages for the music city of Hamburg are available online at www.hamburg-travel.com/music.
