Highfield Festival Invites You to “One Last Dance”

The Highfield Festival near Leipzig invites you to “One Last Dance.” Saxony’s largest rock and pop festival—according to the organizers—at Lake Störmthal has kicked off for what will be its last edition for the time being. About 28,000 people will be partying through Sunday night with plenty of music and bright sunshine. A dip in the nearby lake promises some relief from the heat. Musical highlights include Kraftklub, the Beatsteaks, Marteria, and Feine Sahne Fischfilet.

Break Announced to Develop a New Concept

Due to excessive costs, the organizers are pulling the plug and will initially take a “creative break” in 2027. The rock and pop festival is no longer economically viable in its current form, according to the organizers. Compared to the pre-COVID era, costs for staff, materials, performance fees, and energy have risen by about 45 percent. “Highfield, as its fans know and love it, is no longer possible in this form.” The hiatus will be used to develop a new concept.

Since 2010, Highfield has been held on a peninsula on the flooded open-pit lake in the small town of Großpösna near Leipzig. Previously, the Hohenfelden Reservoir near Erfurt had been the festival’s home for twelve years. After controversy over trash and vandalism, it moved from Thuringia to Saxony. According to reports, attendance rose from 25,000 to as many as 35,000 at its peak. 

Ferris wheel fire two years ago

Two years ago, a fire on a Ferris wheel cast a shadow over Highfield: Two gondolas burned to the ground, and 16 people were injured, some of them seriously. The investigations into negligent bodily injury and negligent arson are still ongoing.