The first two-day festival took place in the gravel pit on 24 and 25 August 1990 and barely had 800 visitors.
The performing bands all hailed from Germany, and apart from Skyline, bands like 5th Avenue, Motoslug, Sacred Season, Axe 'n Sex, and Wizzard played.
The first festivals were organised privately, with the technology being built on a trailer borrowed from a local trucking company and the stage being a DIY construction.

In subsequent years, too, most of the tasks were carried out by the small team.
Until August 1994, for example, ticket orders were organised privately by Andy Göser's mother Regina Göser and security duties were performed by friendly motorcycle clubs up until 1996.
In 1991, the number of visitors increased to 1.300, and with Skyline returning, Bon Scott, an AC/DC cover band from Hamburg, Gypsy Kyss, Kilgore, Life Artist, Ruby Red, and Shanghai'd Guts joined them on stage for an all-regional roster.
That same year, the iconic skull logo was designed by Mark Ramsauer after the basic shape had been determined by Thomas Jensen and Holger Hübner.
The cow skull refers to the venue, a meadow for cows, and to Jensen and Hübner as "boys from the village".

In 1992, the programme changed to include internationally renowned bands such as Blind Guardian and Saxon for the first time, and the number of bands rose to 26, listing bands from Sweden, the USA, Ireland, and Belgium.
The organisers used a professional stage with lighting and PA for the first time and were able to win cigarette brand Prince Denmark as a sponsor.
That year, the Party Stage was set up in the DJ tent next to the main stage, where cover bands and fun projects were to perform exclusively.
The additional post-concert costs for garbage disposal on the campground, where 2,500 paying guests and many more were present and celebrated, as well as the significantly oversized security, among other things, meant that the organisers recorded a loss of around 25,000 D-Mark that year.

With the reunion of the band Fates Warning at the festival in 1993, Wacken Open Air had a special feature and also made a name for itself in the following years with unusual band constellations and reunions.
At the same time, Doro Pesch and other well-known bands made for interesting appearances, which resulted in a new record attendance of 3,500 paying customers.
Simultaneously, the team tried their hand at concert organisation and, under the moniker Stone Castle Promotion, held a Motörhead concert for 2,000 people in Flensburg which, unfortunately, could not cover its promotional costs.
A show with Dio/Freak of Nature became a disaster with only 167 tickets sold, and together with the Open Air, which again recorded a minus, the organisers incurred debts of around 350,000 D-Mark.
As a result, Jörg Jensen and Andreas Göser left the team; Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen remained, as did Jörn-Ulf Goesmann for another two years, continuing to run the Wacken Open Air despite the debts for which their parents had provided guarantees.
During the same year, Thomas Jensen's mother died and Holger Hübner had a serious accident – the year went down in Wacken history as the "year of the plague".

On its fifth anniversary in 1994, the financial situation stabilised and the festival finally broke even.
The line-up remained professional and featured many internationally known bands from the Metal scene.
A total of 4,500 tickets were sold; on top of that, due to the rising costs of garbage disposal, tickets for the camping grounds had to be purchased separately, and pre-orders were rewarded with a free T-shirt.
Also in 1995, income and expenses evened out thanks to the commitment of bands such as Tiamat, D-A-D, the Pretty Maids, and Angra.
But even with roughly 5,000 attendees, the festival didn't turn a profit.
However, for the first time, national media became aware of Wacken Open Air, especially Rock Hard magazine, as well as the newly founded TV station VIVA with its Heavy Metal programme Metalla.
The first two-day festival took place in the gravel pit on 24 and 25 August 1990 and barely had 800 visitors. The performing bands all hailed from Germany, and apart from Skyline, bands like 5th Avenue, Motoslug, Sacred Season, Axe 'n Sex, and Wizzard played. The first festivals were organised privately, with the technology being built on a trailer borrowed from a local trucking company and the stage being a DIY construction.
In subsequent years, too, most of the tasks were carried out by the small team. Until August 1994, for example, ticket orders were organised privately by Andy Göser's mother Regina Göser and security duties were performed by friendly motorcycle clubs up until 1996. In 1991, the number of visitors increased to 1.300, and with Skyline returning, Bon Scott, an AC/DC cover band from Hamburg, Gypsy Kyss, Kilgore, Life Artist, Ruby Red, and Shanghai'd Guts joined them on stage for an all-regional roster. That same year, the iconic skull logo was designed by Mark Ramsauer after the basic shape had been determined by Thomas Jensen and Holger Hübner. The cow skull refers to the venue, a meadow for cows, and to Jensen and Hübner as "boys from the village".
In 1992, the programme changed to include internationally renowned bands such as Blind Guardian and Saxon for the first time, and the number of bands rose to 26, listing bands from Sweden, the USA, Ireland, and Belgium. The organisers used a professional stage with lighting and PA for the first time and were able to win cigarette brand Prince Denmark as a sponsor. That year, the Party Stage was set up in the DJ tent next to the main stage, where cover bands and fun projects were to perform exclusively. The additional post-concert costs for garbage disposal on the campground, where 2,500 paying guests and many more were present and celebrated, as well as the significantly oversized security, among other things, meant that the organisers recorded a loss of around 25,000 D-Mark that year.
With the reunion of the band Fates Warning at the festival in 1993, Wacken Open Air had a special feature and also made a name for itself in the following years with unusual band constellations and reunions. At the same time, Doro Pesch and other well-known bands made for interesting appearances, which resulted in a new record attendance of 3,500 paying customers. Simultaneously, the team tried their hand at concert organisation and, under the moniker Stone Castle Promotion, held a Motörhead concert for 2,000 people in Flensburg which, unfortunately, could not cover its promotional costs. A show with Dio/Freak of Nature became a disaster with only 167 tickets sold, and together with the Open Air, which again recorded a minus, the organisers incurred debts of around 350,000 D-Mark. As a result, Jörg Jensen and Andreas Göser left the team; Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen remained, as did Jörn-Ulf Goesmann for another two years, continuing to run the Wacken Open Air despite the debts for which their parents had provided guarantees. During the same year, Thomas Jensen's mother died and Holger Hübner had a serious accident – the year went down in Wacken history as the "year of the plague".
On its fifth anniversary in 1994, the financial situation stabilised and the festival finally broke even. The line-up remained professional and featured many internationally known bands from the Metal scene. A total of 4,500 tickets were sold; on top of that, due to the rising costs of garbage disposal, tickets for the camping grounds had to be purchased separately, and pre-orders were rewarded with a free T-shirt. Also in 1995, income and expenses evened out thanks to the commitment of bands such as Tiamat, D-A-D, the Pretty Maids, and Angra. But even with roughly 5,000 attendees, the festival didn't turn a profit. However, for the first time, national media became aware of Wacken Open Air, especially Rock Hard magazine, as well as the newly founded TV station VIVA with its Heavy Metal programme Metalla.
Wacken Open Air