- Over 70,000 fans celebrate in perfect weather
- Foo Fighters present new album exclusively at the Nürburgring!
- Apache 207 closes first festival day with spectacular late-night party at the petrol station
In perfect weather, over 70,000 fans celebrated the opening of Germany's biggest festival with a sensational line-up that once again leads the national festival scene with an unprecedented breadth and exclusivity of top-class artists*. The first day at Rock am Ring ended with a rousing show by exclusive headliner Foo Fighters on the Utopia Stage and a late night special by Apache 207.
To kick off Germany's biggest music festival, Rock am Ring 2023, more than 70,000 fans enthusiastically celebrated the start of the festival season at the Nürburgring. In perfect spring weather, many of them arrived by city shuttle and enjoyed the 360-degree event experience of the newly renovated festival grounds with a varied gastronomic offer and extended camping options.
This year's edition of Rock am Ring was opened early on Friday afternoon under blue skies by folk punkers Flogging Molly. The British Gen-Z icon Yungblud as well as the nu-metal giants Limp Bizkit also caused a stir amidst the cheers of the fans. Just like the Utopia Stage co-headliners Rise Against, the latter will play their only European festival appearances this year at Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, out of an old attachment. German rap whiz Badmómzjay as well as Giant Rooks, Juju, and many others also contributed to an all-round successful festival start. Also this year, numerous shows were broadcast by RTL+.
The already unforgettable start of the Ring weekend was crowned on Friday evening by the Foo Fighters with an exclusive European festival performance, during which the band introduced their new drummer Josh Freese to their German fans for the first time. Before that, some lucky Rock-am-Ring fans already had the special opportunity to hear the new Foo Fighters album "But Here We Are" in a picturesque Eifel backdrop at sunrise on Thursday morning as part of a Sunrise Album Pre-Listening.
At the end of the first day of the festival, there was another spectacular highlight with a late night special by the currently most successful German hip-hop artist Apache 207. The rapper celebrated with the fans on a stage modelled on a petrol station, surfed through the crowd on a boat and released the audience into the night on a second stage with a laser show.
Also for Matt Schwarz, CEO Dreamhaus, and Dr. Frithjof Pils, CEO eventimpresents a furious start: "Rock Am Ring combines unique moments and outstanding performances already on the first day. Foo Fighters and Apache 207 were absolute highlights of the first day, carried by the euphoria of the fans embedded in the backdrop of the Nürburgring in the best weather", summed up the festival organisers.
Last but not least, the organisers had set themselves further sustainability goals this year. DB Cargo, the freight transport subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, transported 164,000 kg of material over a large part of the route by climate-friendly rail to Germany's biggest festival. This saved more than 80 per cent CO2 compared to road transport, as one goods train replaced 52 trucks.
The decision to use reusable cups on the entire festival grounds also made a contribution to sustainability, which is emphasised not least by the German Environmental Aid: "Large festivals in particular have a special responsibility in view of the large numbers of visitors. Therefore, other festivals should follow Rock am Ring's example and exclusively use reusable tableware", says Elena Schägg from the Kreislaufwirtschaft Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (German Environmental Aid).
On Saturday, Kings Of Leon, K.I.Z., Incubus, Halestorm, Arch Enemy, Evanescence and others are expected at Rock am Ring, before the Foo Fighters complete their exclusive European festival double at Rock im Park on Sunday and Die Toten Hosen set further highlights at the Ring alongside Bullet For My Valentine, Machine Gun Kelly and many others.