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Leipzig: 25 Years Wave-Gotik-Treffen

May 12, 2016

Fashion, music, lifestyle - Wave and Gothic fans like it dark. From May 13 to 16 the dark scene is convening for a spectacular birthday party - with a rollercoaster.

https://p.dw.com/p/1ImHP
Wave Gotik Treffen Leipzig
Image: Imago/Seeliger

What started small with a handful of bands and 2000 visitors in 1992 has boomed into a worldwide convention for the scene. Every year during Pentecost, the festival draws around 20,000 visitors from Germany and abroad. For the 25th anniversary, around 250 artists are expected.

The Wave-Gotik-Treffen, or WGT (Treffen means "meeting" in German), will take place throughout Leipzig. Along with concerts at 50 venues by bands from the scene, there will be museum tours and Wagner operas.

The Leipzig population’s initial skepticism has long since yielded to openness. Hoteliers and store owners have realized that profit goes hand in hand with extravagant visitors. From vampire teeth at the bakery to goth ice cream, nothing is unthinkable.

Beside the scene concerts, one of this year’s audience attractions will be the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig, which has dedicated the exhibition “Dark Leipzig” to the WGT. The curators, with support from scene connoisseurs, have collected many original artifacts from the festival’s history. These range from fashion and accessories to admission tickets and potted convention mugs from the early days. The exhibition was originally scheduled to run until the end of May, but has been prolonged until 24 July.

is/ir/ks (dpa)