Open air

What is an open air?

In electronic music an open air is any party that takes place outside: a meadow, a beach, a courtyard, a quarry or a club garden. The word covers everything from an afternoon with one sound system to a two-day festival. In Germany the season runs roughly from May to September, and most open airs start in the early afternoon and finish by 22:00, when night-time noise rules usually apply.

Open airs differ from a club night in almost every practical way. They need permits, toilets, power, fences and a plan for rain, and the crowd comes for the setting and the sunshine as much as for the music. Big ones blur into festivals, small ones into a rave in a field.

How an open air works

Planning starts months ahead with the permit from the city or the landowner, which fixes the capacity, the times and the volume. Tickets are often sold in tiers, starting with an early bird that pays for the upfront costs. Weather is the big risk: many people wait for the forecast and buy in the final week, so presale can look worrying until the Wednesday before.

On the day, gates open around 12:00 to 14:00, the peak comes at sunset, and the music stops when the permit says it does. Some crews then move the crowd to an indoor afterhour or a club night in the city.

Example: an open air near Dresden

Say a crew plans an open air in a park near Dresden for 800 guests, from 14:00 to 22:00. Six weeks out, 150 early bird tickets sell. The forecast turns sunny on the Monday before the date, and from then until Saturday another 450 tickets sell, most of them in the last three days.

In this example, the event stands or falls on promotion in exactly that window, when stories about the weather, the line-up and the location reach people who are deciding right now. A campaign that spent everything in the first weeks would have had nothing left for the days that mattered.

Tips for organizers

• Get the permit before you announce the date, not after.
• Have a rain plan (tents, an indoor fallback, or clear refund rules) and say what it is.
• Keep most of the promotion for the final week, when the forecast is known.
• Tell people what to bring and what is not allowed, such as glass, drones or dogs.
• Respect the end time. Complaints from neighbours are the quickest way to lose next year's permit.

Open airs on Parmo

"Open Air" is one of the event categories on Parmo. With a location set, the event appears on the public event pages for its city, including a page per category and genre. Because open airs often sell late, an organizer can put several posts into the brief, for example one when the line-up is out and one on the day itself.

Common questions

What is an open air?

An outdoor party or festival, usually with DJs, that runs through the afternoon and evening during the warmer months.

What time do open airs usually end?

Many end at 22:00, when night-time noise rules apply in most German towns. Larger festivals with special permits can run longer.

What happens to an open air if it rains?

It depends on the organizer. Some have tents or an indoor fallback, others postpone, and refunds follow the ticket terms.