Elbhangfest 2023 in Dresden canceled - Association is looking for new ways of financing

The Dresden Elbhangfest planned for 2023 was canceled by the organizing association. Despite a rescue operation, the necessary basic funding could not be secured, so that the general meeting on Tuesday voted against holding the 31st Elbhangfest. According to the association, only 8,700 of the required 12,000 tickets had been sold by the April 15 deadline. The information was first published by the online portal of the "Sächsische Zeitung".

The association faces "the greatest possible risks for the overall financing." In addition to the uncertain economic situation and a no longer assessable buying behavior of guests, uncertainties about the acceptance of the overall concept and the shifting of a significant financial risk to the festival weekend also play a role. The threat of insolvency, especially in bad weather, ultimately led to the cancellation of the Elbhangfest 2023.

The association emphasizes that the previous financing concept is no longer sustainable and calls for a redesign of the price structure and finding new ways of financing. Thereby one sets also hopes on "concrete signals from the policy" to the risk minimization for future expenditures of the celebration, in particular regarding the year 2024.

The Elbhangfest originated from the initiative for the reconstruction of the Loschwitzer church destroyed in the Second World War and was organized for the first time 1991. Traditionally on the last weekend in June, marketplaces and stages are held in the former wine villages on the slopes of the Elbe, while residents open their gardens and yards and invite you to linger over coffee, beer and wine. The three-day district festival is organized by the Elbhangfest Association and financed by entrance fees, market fees and sponsors. Already in March, the association had warned of the cancellation and asked for support from the citizenry, businesses and the city.

This means that the Elbhangfest has been canceled after the US Car Convention already the second major event in Dresden that was canceled for 2023.