The Maschsee Lake Festival 2017 has begun!

At 6 pm on the dot, Hannover’s Lord Mayor Stefan Schostok and Hans Christian Nolte, Managing Director of Hannover Veranstaltungs GmbH (HVG), and André Lawiszus, project manager of the HVG officially opened the 32nd Maschsee Lake Festival. Led by the ultimate one-man band, surrounded by spectators, gaily coloured stilt walkers and numerous musicians, a vivid parade marked the start of the 19-day festival.

International cuisine
With typical regional dishes from the Tyrol to Yukon and from Cape Town to Japan, there is something to suit even the most discerning foodie. Start your culinary trip on the western shore of Maschsee Lake and get the Mediterranean feeling with paella and Spanish tapas. Further north, there is a choice of international specialities from Canada, the Tyrol, Miami, South Africa and Greece. Along the Rudolf-von-Bennigsen promenade on the eastern shore, the newly designed food village serves a highly diverse mix of international food to go. The journey continues via San Francisco to the next stop at "Geibelstraße", where original Hamburg “lobscouse”, fish specialities from the famous Sylt company Gosch, farmhouse platters and a culinary trip around France are all waiting to be discovered. And if you want a break, relax in one of the sun loungers on Pier Island. From the new Löwenbastion, visitors can enjoy wonderful views of the vibrant northern shore while enjoying healthy food and exclusive wines. The lively Irish atmosphere just a few yards further on makes this the perfect place to hang around. Finally, you can look forward to a selection of classic barbecue food at Maschseequelle.
To reserve a table, go to www.maschseefest.de/tischreservierung. The festival opens at 2 pm from Monday to Saturday and at 11 am on Sundays.

“I am particularly pleased that Maschsee Lake Festival, which is probably the largest open-air party in Northern Germany, is increasingly becoming a platform for corporate events, business meetings and office outings. This is a unique opportunity to see Hannover from a completely different perspective, when business and leisure come face to face in the heart of the city,” says Hans Christian Nolte.

19 days of fantastic music - open-air and free of charge

The Maschsee Stage on the northern shore, the new Löwenbastion and Maschseequelle will be the venues for a wide range of concert highlights with national and international singers and musicians. All the concerts are free of charge for visitors! On the three festival weekends, the local radio channels ffn, Antenne Niedersachsen and RADIO 21 will take over the stage on the northern shore of the lake.
In line with tradition, ffn will kick off: with Lions Head (4 Aug.) and Mighty Oaks (5 Aug.) on the line-up, they are putting two absolute megastars on the stage the first weekend. On the second festival weekend, Antenne Niedersachsen welcomes the comedian Matze Knop (12 Aug.) to the Maschsee Stage. On the third weekend, RADIO 21 is presenting the Bon Jovi tribute band BOUNCE, Beyond Music and Goldplay, a Coldplay cover band. The resident 89.0 RTL DJs Stevie T. and Marc Radix will take over the Maschsee Stage on the northern shore on Wednesdays.

© HVG / Kevin Münkel

The new Löwenbastion has also come up with a highly diverse bill: the opening night will feature MUNIQUE (soul, RnB, funk, rock & pop) with special guest BRIXX. The agenda for “Unplugged Thursday” features Voice of Germany stars Mic Donet and Dimi Rompos who will perform live and – of course – unplugged. The programme continues with “Thank God it’s Friday”, an open stage for singer-songwriters. Saturday’s theme is “Rock you Baby”, when MIT 18, the Westernhagen cover band, Heavy Entertainment – a tribute to Robbie Williams, Queen Revival Band and MUNIQUE featuring special guest will rock the stage. The mood will cool down a little for Sunday, when “Soul’n Brunch” is on the menu. This will be opened by Kim Sanders & Band followed by James Kakande; on the second weekend, Maya Fadeeva and Band Namens WANDA will perform, before Jenniffer Kae and MUNIQUE with Vanessa Ekpenyong, Tommy Reeve, Dimi Rompos, Alexandra Prince & BRIXX line up for the grand finale.

The cover bands who will take to the stage at Maschseequelle are so good that audiences will find it difficult to hear any difference between them and the original artists: Die Toten Ärzte, BLACK/ROSIE and Supernatural Play SANTANA are on the bill for the first weekend. QUEEN 2, diRE sTRINGS and stars of Hannover’s rock family headed by Dete Kuhlmann will dominate the second weekend. Mind2Mode will present hits by U2, Depeche Mode and the Simple Minds on the last weekend of the festival, until crowd idol MARIUZZ appears as the closing act on the Saturday, bringing a true Westernhagen feeling to Maschsee Lake.

© DJuggeldy

Cabaret, kids and the Maschsee pirates
At the weekends, the open-air area beside “Anleger Stadion” (pier at the stadium) serves as the venue for fantastic cabaret acts. Ranging from wacky ideas to death-defying stunts, from sassy to side-splitting: bathing beauty Gina Ginella has got lost and can’t find her way back to shore, Arthur pulls the crowds with his amazing monocycle stunts, while Andy Clapp makes things disappear. On the last weekend of the festival, visitors can look forward to Bett-Män, illustrious bathers as well as the yodelling skills of Alma Holladrio.

There is also a large choice for little visitors: many of the eateries around the lake have their own playground areas, kids’ corners with colouring books and offers designed especially for young children. On the large Children’s Meadow,  Xiè-Xiè will offer a range of entertaining outdoor education activities. Kids will be invited to join in the fun and games there on Wednesdays and from Fridays to Sundays with face painting, bouncy castle, bobby cars and much more besides. The youngsters can romp around and play between 2 and 7 pm while their parents head for the sun loungers to relax and enjoy a coffee. Comedians Einfach Riesig, Monsieur Momo and Clown Fussel are sure to create havoc on the Children’s Meadow and render the kids helpless with laughter. On 3 August, the pirate ship üstralala will take to the seas for the first time under the command of Captain Zopf and Mathjes, the deck hand. Together with a stowaway, Bounty the Parrot and Achim the Mate, the young passengers will experience all sorts of unexpected events. They will sing funny pirate songs and, with a little luck, can even find the key to the treasure chest. (Other dates: 8, 10, 15 and 17 August, starting at 2, 3 and 4 pm).

© HVG / Kevin Münkel

Centre of attraction: Maschsee Lake
Naturally enough, it is Maschsee Lake itself that is the star of the show. Watch water sports or the Maschsee boats sailing around the lake during the day, then admire the big skies and spectacular sunset in the evening. On 5 August, the mood will be one of romance when more than 100 divers from Lower Saxony perform a torchlight swim. On 13 August, things will become noisier and wilder when contestants in the Bahlsen Crazy Crossing cast off from the northern shore in their home-made boats. The last weekend will feature the great duck race on the lake: this will meanwhile be the 8th time that the NKR Duck-Fun(d)racing takes place, with 100 big ducks and 5000 small rubber ducks competing to raise funds for leukaemia.

The app – the mobile Maschsee Lake Festival
In 2017, visitors can again use the newly designed app to enjoy an interactive experience and plan their visit to Maschsee Lake Festival simply and easily on their smartphone. The app provides practical information about the different stages and artists, the supporting programme and a map of the festival grounds, as well as service information and an accommodation directory. The app is available free of charge from the Google Play Store and the Apple iTunes Store.

Accommodation
For those who wish to combine the Maschsee Lake Festival with a short break in Hannover, Hannover Marketing und Tourismus GmbH (HMTG) has put together a themed package as well as a reduced price special for groups. For further information go to www.maschseefest.de/uebernachten.

Further information about the programme is available at www.maschseefest.de.

Photos for journalists can be downloaded from: www.maschseefest.de/presse

© Kevin Münkel

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