Kick-off for festival

200,000 fans: skies clear over Nova Rock

The festival site has been filling up with fans since Tuesday. Arrivals start in earnest today, Wednesday. The first bands will play on Thursday.

(Bild: Schulter Christian)

Tens of thousands of fans approaching the Pannonia Fields: stormy times are only expected on stage. Nova Rock boss Tatar remains relaxed in view of the forecasts for the coming days.

Streets, houses and cars full of mud, furniture from gardens and garages piled up on an embankment, washed away wood wedged in bridge railings - the storms of the past few days have left a trail of devastation through southern Burgenland. While hundreds of volunteers are busy clearing up and soldiers are taking safety precautions, preparations for this summer's major cultural events are in full swing.

Festival days partly cloudy, partly sunny up to 26 degrees
Nova Rock kicks things off now. More than 200,000 fans are expected at Pannonia Fields II in Nickelsdorf from Thursday. Austria's largest festival of its kind takes place on 180 hectares. The area has so far been spared extensive flooding. 

We had our hands full for days with the set-up. There was no serious problem with the weather. If it did drizzle from time to time, this at least prevented too much dust from being stirred up during the work.

Ewald Tatar, Nova-Rock-Chef

Fluctuating forecast
The amount of rain was limited for the time being. "The weather forecast is fluctuating. According to the reports at the beginning of the week, the situation during the festival should not be as dramatic as in the past two years," notes Ewald Tatar.

The festival pilgrims are slowly conquering the Pannonia Fields. "The first caravans already arrived on Tuesday," said Gerold Haubner from the organization office. Today, Wednesday, the fans are getting into full swing and tens of thousands of visitors are expected to arrive. Thursday will be a hot day on the stages.

Sun on Saturday 
"Partly cloudy, the maximum temperature depending on the day between 20 and 26 degrees Celsius", reveals a glance at the meteorological forecast. It could possibly rain a little tomorrow. After that, the situation should ease. Bright sunshine is currently predicted for Saturday.

Mostly "dry and dusty"
Ewald Tatar is relaxed about the weather forecast: "Although Nova Rock and rain have always gone hand in hand for many fans, the fact is that 70 percent of all festival days have been dry and dusty so far."