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Wave-Gotik-Treffen (ger. das Treffen means "the meeting") is an annual world festival for "dark" music and arts in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds (Gothic rock, EBM, Industrial, Noise, Darkwave, Neofolk, Neoclassical, Medieval Music, Experimental, Gothic metal, Deathrock and Punk being examples) play at several venues throughout the city over 4 days on Whitsuntide. The festival also features several fairs with medieval, gothic and cultural merchandise.

With 18,000[1] to 20,000[2] regular attendants, the WGT is one of the largest events of the Goth-, Cybergoth-, Steampunk and Rivethead- subcultures worldwide.

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The date of the WGT varies from year to year. It is held on the German holiday weekend of Pfingsten, known in English as Pentecost or Whitsun, which is 7 weeks after Easter (see List of Pentecost dates, 2002-2020). Unofficial events start in Leipzig on the Thursday night preceding the date of Pfingsten, while the official festival starts on Friday and runs until early-morning on Tuesday, as Monday is an official holiday in Germany.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave-Gotik-Treffen




Im participating there for some years now and - as always - it was real fun to be there. The only thing that was a bit negative was the weather: 35°C and something were almost unbarably hot.


Here are some pictures:

I am not into Gothic myself but I always like the elaborate costumes and the fact that everybody is doing their utmost best to achieve a certain look.

I used to live in Utrecht and there is a yearly Gothic festval there, Summer of Darkness. The whole city would be flooded with all sorts of Goths for a week. I once had a friend over from Gambia and she was totally flabbergasted. "Why is everbody dressed like that?" It toke some time to explain.