Heartbeatz festival cancelled after venue and date changes

The Heartbeatz music festival in Munich has been cancelled after being postponed and moved to a new venue, BR reported. Organisers said the event could no longer be held under the circumstances. They did not submit an application for approval for the planned September date to Munich’s district administration.

The festival was originally scheduled as a three-day event in mid-June at a former gravel works in eastern Munich. After complaints from residents, local politicians and conservationists, organisers planned to move it to the Lucky Star interim-use quarter at Oberwiesenfeld in northern Munich.

The event was first reduced to two days and then to one day, with the date moved to September 5. The Munich district administration said it had received complete applications for the June dates, but no application for the September event.

In an announcement on Instagram, the organisers said they had repeatedly faced obstacles and that some challenges could no longer be resolved satisfactorily. Organiser Leo Wagenhofer told BR that this referred in particular to the change of venue, the later postponement and the resulting need to renegotiate arrangements with artists, service providers, partners and others involved.

Wagenhofer said there had not been one decisive reason for the cancellation. Because key parts of the event had to be planned again, the organisers had intended to submit an application once the necessary details were final and reliable. During those discussions, however, it increasingly became clear that holding the festival under the existing conditions was no longer considered practical or responsible.

Wagenhofer stressed that the lack of an application was not a deliberate attempt to bypass the approval process. The cancellation was decided before a new approval procedure for September had been completed or even started.

Organisers had initially said the festival could attract up to 40,000 visitors. They have not disclosed how many tickets were sold, saying the final figures are still being checked with ticketing partners.

Refunding ticket buyers is the organisers’ highest priority. All tickets sold so far are to be fully refunded by October 31 at the latest, with buyers to be informed accordingly.

Wagenhofer said he wants to relaunch Heartbeatz next year under more stable conditions, including a secured venue, clear organisational responsibilities, binding agreements with key project partners and earlier coordination of all relevant areas.