WACKEN, Germany (CelebrityAccess) — Organizers for Germany’s Wacken Open Air heavy metal festival were forced to limit entries on the festival’s opening day on Wednesday after heavy rain in the region turned the festival grounds into a sea of mud.

In a post on social media on Wednesday, Wacken Open Air organizers said: “despite all efforts, we had to announce the final entry stop for the Wacken Open Air 2023 early this morning due to the current weather situation and the impact on the festival grounds. All ticket holders who cannot attend the festival due to it will be refunded the ticket price (including WOA 2023, Bauer Uwes Garden 2023, Residency Evil 2023, Wheels of Steel 2023, Wacken United 2023, Wacken united Catering 2023).”

“We will provide you with information on all other bookable products as soon as they are available to us. Detailed information about the refund process – and also about when you fans can expect the refund – will be announced shortly. We know that many of you have made great efforts and had a long journey to visit Wacken in 2023. We wanted nothing more than to party with 85,000 metalheads on our holy ground. But under the continuously difficult conditions, we have reached the maximum number of visitors we can accommodate this year. We hope from the bottom of our hearts that we will be able to welcome you in Wacken next year,” the statement continued.

According to the Associated Press, the festival was expecting a fully sold-out crowd of about 85,000 fans but police estimated that only 50,000 were admitted to the festival site before they were forced to close the doors due to the site’s reduced capacity.

The crowd limitations imposed on Wednesday follow a warning from festival organizers on Tuesday that no additional cars and trucks could be admitted to the site because of the poor condition of roads and camping areas.

The festival, which runs through Saturday, features a rock heavy lineup that includes Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Trivium, Dropkick Murphys, and Helloween among others.

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