OVERVIEW OF THE FESTIVAL - A SUMMARY OF WHAT TO EXPECT
Wave Gotik Treffen (WGT) is a four day festival that takes place over the Whitsun Holiday (Pfingsten in Germany) each year. It takes
place in Leipzig, a city of half a million people located approximately 120km south of Berlin.
Unofficially WGT is attended by up to 30, 000 Goths from around the world giving the festival a very international flavour. Essentially 160
to 180 bands will play at about 20+ venues across the city. Your task is to travel between them seeing as many bands as possible,
while shopping at the biggest Goth market you will ever see, clubbing till you can’t stay awake, visiting the various Pagen/Medieval
villages and at some point finding time to eat and sleep.
There are many reasons to go to WGT, but most people will be drawn by the huge list of bands that play. All music genres of the Goth
world will play at the festival, from Trad to EBM and from Goth Metal to Neo-Folk. You will get the chance to see large Headliner bands to
small unknown bands from all corners of the world. If you don't know any of the bands or if watching bands is not your thing then don't
worry, you still have shopping, night clubbing, and wonderful sight seeing that should keep you more than occupied.
It’s quite hard to describe the feeling of the festival, it has a fabulous laid back atmosphere, and it’s not intimate like many of the UK
festivals, although many of the venues are. I guess that's because there are so many ways to experience the festival that everybody will
find some way to enjoy themselves. The multinational nature of the festival adds huge amounts of enjoyment to the weekend. Knowing
that people have travelled from across the world to be here is very special. No other festival seems to encapsulate this in the same way
that WGT does. Eating outside the Agra is like eating at the United Nations, the languages and accents are from just about every corner
of the planet. If you fail to enjoy yourself here, then you may as well give up and crawl into your coffin (you will find one or two in the Agra
shopping hall normally, where you can have your photo taken!).
Of course the majority of people that you encounter will be German, but not just from Leipzig, like you most will have travelled many
miles to get to Leipzig. At the railway station (Hauptbahnhof) you will encounter a sea of black dressed people prior to the festival
starting, making you feel at home and safe from the moment you arrive. Leipzig itself is a wonderful City, just walking around the city is
most enjoyable, and most of the people in black are truly friendly, if you can’t find something, just ask, the chances are that they will
speak some English (or answer you with a broad American accent). And just to note that I have yet to see any trouble in the eight years
that I have attended, in any festival location.
As far as the festival goes I must admit that I am no authority; you may find that some of the information on this website is not correct or
out of date (some aspects of the festival change each year), however I have tried to give an honest and realistic explanation of my own
experiences or those of people that I know. I have no connection with the organisers (although I do now help to moderate the official
WGT website forum), if you have a question then join the Official WGT forum or WGT Leipzig UK Group or a Facebook group.
Many people ask and email me about WGT (normally as they have yet to attend) and my one real piece of advice is always to 'Plan Well',
there is so much to do and see, and not really that much time. You should plan early too, if you have the chance, from how you get to
Leipzig, to what you take and what bands you want to see. If you have never been before then I suggest that you make a plan, and try to
stick to it, especially if you want to see certain bands. Many people find themselves shopping all day and give themselves no time to
see bands, that or you turn up for a band and find it packed and that you cant get in (a semi regular occurrence). You need to set your
priorities and plan the rest of the trip around them. You can always bank on public transport being slower than you thought and more
packed. For popular bands you will need to be at the venue at least a band if not two bands before the band you want to see. Getting in
to see some bands is always difficult, even at the Agra, the largest festival venue. Get there early and remember Germans don't queue
:) However don’t let me put you off by all this, you will have an excellent time, you will want to come back next year, and next year you will
promise yourself that you will plan better.
WGT is truly the 'Mecca' of the Goth World, everybody should go at least once, although once you have the bug you will keep on coming
back, there is nothing else like it. My thanks to all those people that must spend so much time organising the festival. Keep up the good
work, see you all in Leipzig.
WEBSITE NAVIGATION - WHERE DO I START?
OK so its quite a big site, there is loads of info on the Festival and Leipzig,
Thanks to all those that have donated information, keep it coming,
I hope this website helps you, See you in Leipzig!
Mark (aka sadgoth)
Wave Gotik Treffen (WGT) is a four day festival that takes place over the Whitsun Holiday (Pfingsten in Germany) each year. It takes
place in Leipzig, a city of half a million people located approximately 120km south of Berlin.
Unofficially WGT is attended by up to 30, 000 Goths from around the world giving the festival a very international flavour. Essentially 160
to 180 bands will play at about 20+ venues across the city. Your task is to travel between them seeing as many bands as possible,
while shopping at the biggest Goth market you will ever see, clubbing till you can’t stay awake, visiting the various Pagen/Medieval
villages and at some point finding time to eat and sleep.
There are many reasons to go to WGT, but most people will be drawn by the huge list of bands that play. All music genres of the Goth
world will play at the festival, from Trad to EBM and from Goth Metal to Neo-Folk. You will get the chance to see large Headliner bands to
small unknown bands from all corners of the world. If you don't know any of the bands or if watching bands is not your thing then don't
worry, you still have shopping, night clubbing, and wonderful sight seeing that should keep you more than occupied.
It’s quite hard to describe the feeling of the festival, it has a fabulous laid back atmosphere, and it’s not intimate like many of the UK
festivals, although many of the venues are. I guess that's because there are so many ways to experience the festival that everybody will
find some way to enjoy themselves. The multinational nature of the festival adds huge amounts of enjoyment to the weekend. Knowing
that people have travelled from across the world to be here is very special. No other festival seems to encapsulate this in the same way
that WGT does. Eating outside the Agra is like eating at the United Nations, the languages and accents are from just about every corner
of the planet. If you fail to enjoy yourself here, then you may as well give up and crawl into your coffin (you will find one or two in the Agra
shopping hall normally, where you can have your photo taken!).
Of course the majority of people that you encounter will be German, but not just from Leipzig, like you most will have travelled many
miles to get to Leipzig. At the railway station (Hauptbahnhof) you will encounter a sea of black dressed people prior to the festival
starting, making you feel at home and safe from the moment you arrive. Leipzig itself is a wonderful City, just walking around the city is
most enjoyable, and most of the people in black are truly friendly, if you can’t find something, just ask, the chances are that they will
speak some English (or answer you with a broad American accent). And just to note that I have yet to see any trouble in the eight years
that I have attended, in any festival location.
As far as the festival goes I must admit that I am no authority; you may find that some of the information on this website is not correct or
out of date (some aspects of the festival change each year), however I have tried to give an honest and realistic explanation of my own
experiences or those of people that I know. I have no connection with the organisers (although I do now help to moderate the official
WGT website forum), if you have a question then join the Official WGT forum or WGT Leipzig UK Group or a Facebook group.
Many people ask and email me about WGT (normally as they have yet to attend) and my one real piece of advice is always to 'Plan Well',
there is so much to do and see, and not really that much time. You should plan early too, if you have the chance, from how you get to
Leipzig, to what you take and what bands you want to see. If you have never been before then I suggest that you make a plan, and try to
stick to it, especially if you want to see certain bands. Many people find themselves shopping all day and give themselves no time to
see bands, that or you turn up for a band and find it packed and that you cant get in (a semi regular occurrence). You need to set your
priorities and plan the rest of the trip around them. You can always bank on public transport being slower than you thought and more
packed. For popular bands you will need to be at the venue at least a band if not two bands before the band you want to see. Getting in
to see some bands is always difficult, even at the Agra, the largest festival venue. Get there early and remember Germans don't queue
:) However don’t let me put you off by all this, you will have an excellent time, you will want to come back next year, and next year you will
promise yourself that you will plan better.
WGT is truly the 'Mecca' of the Goth World, everybody should go at least once, although once you have the bug you will keep on coming
back, there is nothing else like it. My thanks to all those people that must spend so much time organising the festival. Keep up the good
work, see you all in Leipzig.
WEBSITE NAVIGATION - WHERE DO I START?
OK so its quite a big site, there is loads of info on the Festival and Leipzig,
- If you have never been before can I suggest you check out the Planning your Trip and Getting to Leipzig pages.
- If you are looking for more information on the Festival check out the The WGT Festival pages for ticket, venue information and
locations plus band photos and reviews from previous WGTs (there is also a page for the Pre-WGT Meeting that we arrange for
the Thursday evening before WGT starts). - If you are after a hotel or info on camping check out the Planning your Trip section where I have listed information on 50 hotels.
- If you have never taken the time to really look around Leipzig then you should maybe check out the Leipzig section where you will
find info on the city and all the tourist things to see and do. - Additionally you can find numerous links on the Links page and thanks to those that have contributed to the site on the Credits
and Help page.
Thanks to all those that have donated information, keep it coming,
I hope this website helps you, See you in Leipzig!
Mark (aka sadgoth)
| Some rather nice paint work on my new Leather Jacket...see you in Leipzig |
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