The Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2025 festival in Leipzig

More than 20,000 visitors from all over the world, including Australia, the USA, Sweden and the rest of Europe, transformed the streets of Leipzig into a live setting for a parade of darkness, style and sound for several days.

The centre of the festival was traditionally Agra Messepark in the Dölitz district, where the main stages, tent city and themed fairs were located. However, other parts of Leipzig were also buzzing with festival life - almost 50 different venues, from clubs to churches, hosted concerts, lectures, exhibitions and performances.

This year's programme included 157 musical projects, ranging from scene grandees to new names. Of particular interest were performances by London After Midnight from the USA, the Swedish project Kite and the German bands Zeraphine, Klangstabil and Calva Y Nada. The legendary Silke Bischoff also returned to the stage - despite the controversy surrounding the reunion format, there were a lot of fans at the concert.

Not without headliners: the audience met with delight Alphaville, Camouflage, Combichrist, L'Ame Immortelle, The 69 Eyes and New Model Army. There was gothic rock, synth-pop, darkwave, industrial and - suddenly - opera and organ music in ancient cathedrals.

Among the most atmospheric events is a Victorian picnic in Clara Zetkin Park. Guests in corsets, cylinders, lace gloves and parasols looked like they had stepped off the pages of 19th century novels. Equally popular were tours of the South Cemetery, a pagan village, themed film screenings, and even a "black knitting circle" where participants learned ancient crafts in the spirit of black romanticism.

As always, WGT participants could use public transport for free.

Leipzig's main hotels were booked well in advance of the festival, but a spacious tent camp was set up on the Agra grounds. Tickets, as last year, cost 170 euros - a price, according to the organisers, maintained for the third year in a row. For a fee (50 euros) it was possible to purchase an Obsorgekarte - a special admission for campers.

The official website of the festival did not reveal the schedule until the last moment - fans traditionally found out where to go already on the spot. But it's this unpredictability that makes WGT so special: every year is a new journey deep into the aesthetics of darkness and musical diversity.

In 2025 Leipzig proved once again that Wave-Gotik-Treffen is not just a festival, but a phenomenon that unites aesthetics, culture, music and thousands of people for whom black is the colour of life.