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Rockavaria to take another break in 2019

There will be no Rockavaria festival next summer, organiser Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) has announced.

In a statement, DEAG’s Global Concerts says building work on the Glyptothek museum, near the 2018 festival site in Munich’s Königsplatz plaza, means it has been forced to cancel. The festival, launched at great expense in 2015, formerly took place at the city’s Olympiapark, before moving to Königsplatz for 2018.

It took a break in 2017, citing a lack of talent on tour.

Rockavaria 2018 (Saturday 9–Sunday 10 June) was headlined by Iron Maiden and Limp Bizkit, the latter promoted to top of the bill after die Toten Hosen were forced to cancel. It was attended by 35,000 people, according to Museek.

 


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DEAG cancels Rockavaria 2017

There will be no Rockavaria in 2017, promoter Global Concerts has confirmed.

Announcing the cancellation, Global Concerts’ managing director, Andrea Blahetek-Hauzenberger, says the Munich festival – one of three launched at great expense in 2015 by Global parent company Deutsche Entertainment AG (DEAG) – failed to attract a line-up of a calibre that “meets our high expectations”. “We want to remain faithful to our intention to stage Rockavaria only if it is good enough,” he explains. “[This year] that is not true.”

Iggy Pop, Iron Maiden and German metal act Powerworld headlined Rockavaria 2016, while Muse, Kiss and Metallica topped the bill in its debut year.

“We want to remain faithful to our intention to stage Rockavaria only if [the line-up] is good enough”

DEAG posted a €23 million loss in 2015 owing to expenses incurred by the launch of Rockavaria, Rock in Vienna and Rock im Revier, in the Ruhr district.

Of the three, only Rock in Vienna will make it to its third year, following the cancellation last October of Rock im Revier (originally billed as Grüne Hölle Rock, taking place at the Nürburgring racing track).

Despite DEAG’s hopes of sustaining its own Rock am Ring/Rock im Park competitor in Bavaria seemingly slipping away, CEO Peter Schwenkow maintains the company’s festival strategy is intact. He tells MusikWoche Rockavaria is “like Knebworth – if we attract the right artists, it will, of course, continue”.

 


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