The future of hip-hop festivals

29 August 2024

From a rock and blues gathering in a Swiss paddock into Europe’s largest urban music festival, the story of Openair Frauenfeld is one of constant transformation and reinvention. We ask organiser Joachim Bodmer, head of sponsoring, what’s next for the festival scene.

SIP: Europe’s biggest hip-hop festival is in a field in Switzerland… How did that happen?

 

Joachim: When we started to do something, we tried to be different to everybody else. Like 18 years ago, when we started all the festival lineups, we were basically the same. They looked the same. They were just in a different location, so we tried to be different. We tried to do something different and then we ended up doing what we love. That's what we did.


SIP: How big is Openair Frauenfeld and what kind of scale are we talking about?


Joachim Bodmer: We have about 80 bands, international bands from all over the world playing here at the festival on 4 stages. We have 180,000 guests over 4 days.

 

SIP: How has Openair Frauenfeld evolved to provide a multi-sensory experience for festival-goers?


Joachim: We have a huge stage. It's about 150 metres wide, up to 40 metres high. It's a whole experience. You don't go to a festival anymore just to listen to music; you want to have a whole experience, and we try to give this experience to our people.

 

SIP: What innovations have you introduced at Openair Frauenfeld and what trends do you see shaping the future of music festivals?


Joachim: We have an accessible stage where people can go up to the same level as the stars. Our stage looks like Fifth Avenue in New York. We have interactions where you can communicate with your phone with the stage and screens. In the future, we want to incorporate trends like fashion partnerships.

 

SIP: What steps has Openair Frauenfeld taken towards sustainability?

 

Joachim: We work with solar panels and batteries instead of generators. We have a camp called VEP, Very Ecological Person camp. We know our responsibility and we're happy to be part of this movement. We're working towards being more ecological every year.

 

SIP: Where do you draw inspiration from to create an exceptional festival experience?


Joachim: We take inspiration from life, not just bars or restaurants. Customer management in the airline industry is very interesting. How they treat the customer, how they give you the feeling of being special, even when you're not, is something we implement at the festival.

 

SIP: What advice would you give to someone looking to work in festival organisation?


Joachim: You have to love it. Otherwise, there's not many reasons to come here because you don't earn as much as in other sectors like banking. But it's crazy, it’s something special. It's amazing to see people's faces when they have a good time. That's why we do it.

 

SIP: What does it mean to you personally to be able to stage the festival and welcome everyone this year?


Joachim: Well we as organizers are happy when it's over without any problems. But I mean, it's great to see all these people back on the field again, smiling and having a good time. This is why we do this job. We are giving the people a good time. They're always happy when they come to us. Seeing them enjoy the festival after such a long break is very fulfilling. It makes all the hard work worthwhile, knowing that we’ve brought joy to so many people.

Please enjoy our brands responsibly. Do not share this website with anyone under legal drinking age.

Log into your account

Log in to directly to enjoy full access to the SIP platform:

Welcome to SIP

SIP platform is available in multiple languages. Please note that selection of content (articles, shows) might differ depending on the language you selected. You can always change language later on from the footer or from your account settings.

Forgot your password?

Enter the email address associated with your account and we will email you a link to reset password.

Check your email

If we recognize your account, a link to reset your password has been sent to your email address. If you haven’t received it, please check in your spam folder and add to whitelist.

Create an account

Please provide your details to register.

You must be of legal drinking age to join.
Birthdates are not shared with others.
Your password must include at least one symbol and number and have at least 8 characters.

Check your email

A link to activate your account has been sent to your email address. If you haven’t received it, please check your spam folder and add it to whitelist.