Arcadia Live fears the end of METAstadt Open Air

Austrian promoter Arcadia Live says that new regulations at Vienna’s METAstadt could end its annual concert series METAStadt Open Air.

The summer series launched in 2019 at the venue and has hosted international acts including Alt-J, The Kooks, Skunk Anansie, Korn, Patti Smith, Jungle and Khruangbin.

However, noise complaints about this year’s concert series have prompted METAstadt to change its closing time from 11 pm to 10 pm.

“This makes METAStadt unattractive or unplayable as an open-air event location not only for major international artists but ultimately also for us,” said Arcadia Live in a statement posted today (21 August).

“Even if an hour doesn’t seem like much, many of the big artists rely on darkness in their set-up (light, visuals, LEDs, etc.) and make it an unavoidable prerequisite for their performance. Moving the curfew forward to 10 pm will unfortunately be a reason for many big musicians to stop coming to Vienna in the summer.”

The promoter says the future of METAStadt Open Air is now “uncertain” and that there may not be another suitable venue in Vienna that can host it.

METAStadt (cap 8,100) closed a gap for open-air concerts with mid-tier artists in Vienna, for whom the Arena Wien’s 3,000-capacity outdoor stage is too small and the 51,000-capacity Happel Stadium is too big.

Recognising this, Arcadia invested “considerable financial resources, time and passion” into developing METAStadt into a fit-for-purpose entertainment venue.

“After just three summers (and a forced break due to Corona), the Metastadt in the 22nd district has become an institution: international artists play exclusive sets there and sometimes celebrate their Central European debut to a completely sold-out crowd,” the statement continues.

“Moving the curfew forward to 10 pm will be a reason for many big musicians to stop coming to Vienna in the summer”

“Thanks to the large number of spectators from home and abroad, the [concerts] are also becoming a significant economic factor.”

The Vienna-based promoter says it has been committed to being a “good neighbour” since the first edition, inviting residents to the concert series and listening to their concerns.

“We have always meticulously adhered to various official regulations (keyword: volume) and obtained all the necessary permits,” Arcadia continues. “We have also not always pushed the previous official curfew of 11 pm to the last minute and have even finished 45 minutes earlier if the programme, the act or the management allowed it.”

Arcadia – a German-Austrian joint venture between FKP Group, Four Artists Booking Agency, Chimperator Live and KKT – said it would not give up hope about the continuation of METAStadt Open Air.

“We wish for an opportunity to discuss with the City of Vienna, its subordinate authorities and the district, to see how we can save one of the most beautiful concert locations in Vienna!” the statement concludes.

Arena Wien, which hosts around 30 open-air concerts annually, also had to contend with noise complaints last year.

An early closing time of 10 pm was initially threatened but instead, a modern sound system was purchased in spring 2024 for around one million euros, with the City of Vienna contributing €595,000.

The municipality was satisfied with the system, which is said to keep volume constant, and 11 pm curfews have been approved on a case-by-case basis.

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