Wacken Open Air now boasts eight stages for musicians and accompanying entertainment.
The most important ones are the Faster and the Harder Stage, which are designed as connected twin stages and have a shared sound and lighting system.
Together with the slightly smaller Louder Stage, these two stages make up the Infield, or The Holy Ground.
All three stages are also equipped with video walls to allow visibility of the performers even from remote positions.

Up until 2016, these three stages were called Black Stage, True Metal Stage, and Party Stage.
After Wacken 2016, visitors were encouraged to suggest new names.
From these suggestions, the best ideas were to be put up to a vote in a survey.
Instead, however,  the slogan "Faster - Harder - Louder" became the inspiration for the names and the three stages were renamed accordingly.

Two more twin stages, the W.E.T. Stage (Wacken Evolution Tent) and the Headbanger Stage, are located inside a big tent called Bullhead City Circus.
The Metal Battle takes place on these stages on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by regular band appearances on the days after.

While the large stages and tent stages are open to all genres, the remaining stages are dedicated to specific themes.
The Wackinger Stage is located in the medieval area of the festival and is played primarily by bands from Folk, Pagan and Medieval genres, while the Wasteland Stage, which was established in 2014, is geared towards music with an apocalyptic touch.
The Beergarden Stage is modelled after typical folk festival stages, but also accommodates permanent Wacken guests such as the Wacken Firefighters and Mambo Kurt.
Wacken Open Air now boasts eight stages for musicians and accompanying entertainment. The most important ones are the Faster and the Harder Stage, which are designed as connected twin stages and have a shared sound and lighting system. Together with the slightly smaller Louder Stage, these two stages make up the Infield, or The Holy Ground. All three stages are also equipped with video walls to allow visibility of the performers even from remote positions.
Up until 2016, these three stages were called Black Stage, True Metal Stage, and Party Stage. After Wacken 2016, visitors were encouraged to suggest new names. From these suggestions, the best ideas were to be put up to a vote in a survey. Instead, however,  the slogan "Faster - Harder - Louder" became the inspiration for the names and the three stages were renamed accordingly.
Two more twin stages, the W.E.T. Stage (Wacken Evolution Tent) and the Headbanger Stage, are located inside a big tent called Bullhead City Circus. The Metal Battle takes place on these stages on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by regular band appearances on the days after.
While the large stages and tent stages are open to all genres, the remaining stages are dedicated to specific themes. The Wackinger Stage is located in the medieval area of the festival and is played primarily by bands from Folk, Pagan and Medieval genres, while the Wasteland Stage, which was established in 2014, is geared towards music with an apocalyptic touch. The Beergarden Stage is modelled after typical folk festival stages, but also accommodates permanent Wacken guests such as the Wacken Firefighters and Mambo Kurt.
Wacken Open Air