2.25 million visitors attended the 30th Maschseefest in Hanover

For 19 days, from July 29 to August 16, the Maschseefest created a vacation-like atmosphere with mostly summery—and at times, peak summer—temperatures, featuring international cuisine, lively open-air concerts, a charming program of cabaret and children’s entertainment, and exciting events on the water. Even the few autumnal evenings did nothing to dampen the mood along the waterfront promenades. In addition to the weekends, weekdays were also particularly busy: On Wednesday (August 5), more than 140,000 guests attended, followed by another 110,000 on the following Thursday (August 6). As a result, Hannover Veranstaltungs GmbH (HVG) was able to establish the Maschseefest as a popular gathering place even during the week.

 “The Maschsee Festival is steadily evolving into a vacation attraction whose appeal extends beyond Germany’s borders. We are very pleased with how well the festival went, the mostly beautiful weather, and the enthusiastic guests from near and far, and we are delighted to contribute to the international, cosmopolitan image of Hannover—the Trade Fair City and UNESCO City of Music—through our organization of the festival,” says Hans Christian Nolte, Managing Director of the HVG.

With its vacation-like atmosphere and diverse offerings, the Maschsee Festival drew visitors from all over Germany—including Kiel, Hamburg, Cologne, Berlin, and Munich—to the capital of Lower Saxony. Corporate invitations also brought an international crowd from across Europe, China, and New Zealand to the Maschsee, all of whom spoke very highly of the festival’s high quality.

Significant media interest

© HVG / Kevin Münkel

The Maschsee Festival’s significant visibility is due, in part, to nationwide and even, in some cases, international media coverage: From all over Germany, publications such as the *Hessische Allgemeine*, the *Neue Westfälische*, the *Landeszeitung Lüneburger Heide*, *Bild Hamburg*, the *Weser Kurier*, and the *Nordwest-Zeitung* reported on Lower Saxony’s largest folk festival. Articles on the websites of newspapers such as Die Welt, Focus, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung also drew attention to the event. Furthermore, NDR television, Sat1, and the radio stations ffn, Antenne Niedersachsen, Radio 21, NDR1, Radio Hannover, and Radio Leinehertz highlighted the lake festivities—with Radio 21 and Radio Hannover even broadcasting regular live programs from the festival grounds. To mark the anniversary, Radio 21 broadcast a full 30 hours from the lake. Talk show guests included, among others, Mayor Stefan Schostok, Regional President Hauke Jagau, and former professional tennis player Nicolas Kiefer.

International concept – international visitors

© HVG / Kevin Münkel

Culinary-wise, the Maschseefest stood out thanks to the 50 international food stands and restaurants surrounding the lake. They took visitors on a journey through the cuisines of the world with Japanese sushi, American burgers, Moroccan falafel pockets, and Caribbean meat stir-fries. The unique culinary offerings on the north shore, in particular, generated great enthusiasm among guests with their international flair. But for those who preferred to stick to local culinary traditions, the Maschseefest also offered a wide selection of classics such as bratwurst, pretzels, Labskaus, and potato pancakes. The vegan dishes offered for the first time at the Food Mile East, the inaugural brewery festival at the Löwenbastion, and the Temple Bar—which returned after a one-year hiatus—were also enthusiastically received.

Sounds good—the Maschsee Festival

Musically, too, the 30th Maschseefest took its guests on a journey around the world. In particular, the program organized by the Pavillon Cultural Center on the Maschsee Stage was all about internationalism and encounters between local and international ensembles. For example, as part of the UNESCO City of Music initiative, musicians from the Voodoo Sound Club in Bologna met with the Hanover-based musicians of Brazzo Brazzone; the collaboration between Texan singer Patricia Vonne and Cuban guitarist Dany Labana gave rise to a melodious friendship—and the musicians of the Dutch band Busquitos from Harlem spontaneously joined forces with the band of Brazilian singer Mariana Da Cruz.

Over the course of 19 days, a total of 110 musicians, 30 DJs, and 25 street performers thrilled the audience with a combined total of around 300 performances on the four stages surrounding Lake Maschsee. Musical highlights included concerts by New Model Army, Johannes Oerding, Rosario Smowing from Argentina, the Westernhagen cover band “Mit 18,” as well as Maschseefest classics such as Lotto King Karl & Die Barmbek Dreamboys, Gunter Gabriel, and Torfrock. The three local radio stations—ffn, Antenne Niedersachsen, and Radio 21—provided a diverse lineup of programming throughout the weekends, drawing numerous visitors to the Maschsee stage on the north shore.

In addition to the musical and culinary highlights along the waterfront promenades, Lake Maschsee took center stage during the traditional events on the water: Things took a romantic turn on August 8 when more than 100 illuminated torch-bearing swimmers from all over Lower Saxony created a beautiful sea of lights on the lake. On August 9, Antenne Niedersachsen thrilled the crowd with the zany “Crazy Crossing” fun boat race. On Saturday of the festival’s final weekend, 5,000 colorfully decorated ducks, along with 100 Big Ducks and several sharks, were sent racing for a good cause in the “NKR Duck Fun(d) Racing” event.

About 13,000 visitors took a ride on the boats of the Maschsee fleet. The pirate ship “üstralala” celebrated its 100th voyage on August 13 and has been stealing its way into children’s hearts for 7 years now. All pirate cruises were once again completely sold out this year—the little pirates even came all the way from Berlin to visit their grandparents in Hanover so they could sign on board the ship and get a share of the pirate treasure. Those who couldn’t snag one of the highly sought-after tickets had the chance to meet the ship’s boy Mathjes and Clown Fidolo at the Kinderwiese last weekend. In addition, the many young festival guests got their money’s worth there with the exciting children’s program offered by Xiè-Xiè Freizeit- und Erlebnispädagogik.

The variety show and supporting program offered a mix of loud and soft moments: Comedian Mister M had the audience in stitches, Opus Furore amazed visitors with their high-flying acrobatics, and the charming flight attendants took guests on an entertaining journey. There was dancing with the Bothe Dance Schools by the lake or during salsa lessons with Emile Moise; Germany’s most famous fortune-teller gazed into the future; and shanty choirs got everyone swaying—there was entertainment to suit every taste and every age.

The festival’s website, www.maschseefest.de, set a new record: With more page views than ever before (around 1.8 million), it provided guests from near and far with information about the food and drink offerings and the event schedule. The 40,000 fans of the Maschseefest’s Facebook page are further evidence of the growing popularity of this lakeside celebration.

A peaceful celebration

“From the police’s perspective, the Maschsee Festival was largely peaceful and took place without any major disturbances,” concluded the press office of the Hanover Police Department. Despite the increase in visitor numbers, the total number of reported crimes was slightly lower than last year. A positive conclusion can also be drawn regarding the protection of minors: City employees on patrol during the Maschsee Festival did not observe any notable incidents involving underage festivalgoers.

In 2016, the Maschseefest, running from July 27 to August 14, once again invites visitors to take a trip around the world—complete with culinary, musical, and artistic highlights.

Published: August 17, 2015