Following the cancellation of the Highfield Festival in Saxony, the Thuringian Young Union is calling for its return to the birthplace of the rock and pop event: Thuringia. “Highfield was THE cultural event for young people in Thuringia,” wrote Lennart Geibert, state chairman of the CDU’s youth organization, in a statement. The festival’s departure from Thuringia has left a major void for tourism and the economy, but above all for young people. Now there is an opportunity for a return, and it should be seized. Geibert proposed talks between Highfield organizers and the state government.
Thuringia—specifically the Hohenfelden Reservoir near Erfurt—had been home to the festival since the late 1990s; the name “Highfield” also comes from its founding location. Following controversy over trash and vandalism on the grounds, it moved from Thuringia to Saxony in 2010.