Metal festivals
Metal has its big gatherings: Hellfest in France, Wacken in Germany, Download in the UK, Graspop in Belgium and Sweden Rock in Sweden, with capacities of up to 85,000 people a day. Almost all of them take place in June, and Wacken closes the season at the end of July: so you can string several festivals together in the same summer.
United Kingdom2
MetalDownload
9 Jun — 13 Jun · Castle Donington · from €368
Rock / Metal
3 days
MetalBloodstock Open Air
Madball · Calva Louise · Cryptic Shift
5 Aug — 8 Aug · Walton-on-Trent · from €270
Metal
4 days (Thursday to Sunday)
France2
Czechia2
MetalMasters of Rock
8 Jul — 11 Jul · Vizovice · from €149
Metal
4 days
MetalBrutal Assault
Children of Bodom · The Sisters of Mercy · Carcass
4 Aug — 7 Aug · Jaroměř · from €230
Extreme metal / Death / Black
4 days + opening party
Germany2
MetalWacken Open Air
Five Finger Death Punch · Helloween · DragonForce
28 Jul — 31 Jul · Wacken · from €366
Metal
4 days
MetalSummer Breeze Open Air
Children of Bodom · Halestorm · HammerFall
18 Aug — 21 Aug · Dinkelsbühl (Bavaria) · from €220
Metal (heavy, folk, death, metalcore)
4 days
Australia1
Sweden1
Belgium1
Spain1
Frequently asked questions
Which is the biggest metal festival?
Among those we list, Wacken Open Air in Germany (announced capacity of 85,000 people a day) comes ahead of Download in the UK (80,000), Hellfest in France (60,000) and Graspop in Belgium (55,000).
When do metal festivals take place?
On our 2027 dates: Sweden Rock and Download around 9 June, Hellfest and Graspop around 17 June, then Wacken from 28 to 31 July.