It is almost time: On Wednesday, September 16th, we will take you live and online to the Stage Operettenhaus, to experience with us the opening night of the 15th Reeperbahn Festival!

At our opening night event DOORS OPEN, you can look forward to numerous well-known personalities from culture, entertainment, media and politics - packed into a diverse programme! The night's hosts Hadnet Tesfai and Jörg Thadeusz will guide you through the evening.

During the one-hour DOORS OPEN Show, which was produced with creativity and care and in accordance with the current hygiene and behavioural rules, the focus will be on the pressing issues of this time and the effects of the past months on the music and culture industry. In a pre-recorded interview with presenter Jörg Thadeusz, American singer-songwriter legend Jackson Browne describes his personal experiences during the ongoing pandemic in the United States and talks about his musical projects and new album release.

Keychange, the Reeperbahn Festival's gender equality initiative, also plays a central role in the show. Important aspects of Keychange will be visualised in an emotional and visually powerful dance performance, developed by choreographer Maike Mohr (Chefboss), based on the song "Pretty Lady" by Tash Sultana. Following the performance, presenter and Keychange supporter Hadnet Tesfai will take a look at what the Keychange initiative has achieved so far and which goals lie ahead for a more inclusive music industry.

We also introduce this year's jury and the nominees of the ANCHOR - Reeperbahn Festival International Music Award. We will welcome the prominent jury members Melanie C. from the Spice Girls, presenter and DJ Markus Kavka and Frank Dellé from Seeed live on stage, while producer Tony Visconti, singer-songwriter Brody Dalle and mastering engineer Darcy Proper will join us live from New York. We are also pleased to welcome to the Stage Operettenhaus Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Hamburg's Senator for Culture and Media Dr. Carsten Brosda as well as the Chairman of the Danish Arts Foundation Michael Bojesen, Reeperbahn Festival CEO Alexander Schulz as well as several other guests.

Immediately following the DOORS OPEN Show, we eagerly await a one-hour concert by the Danish singer-songwriter Tina Dico. Her show, the DOORS OPEN Concert, will be available live in full from 9:45 pm on our website and on ARTE Concert, but will also be open to all festival visitors with wristbands valid for Wednesday!

Country partnership Denmark

In 2020, Denmark becomes our partner country for the Reeperbahn Festival and will once again reveal itself as a melting pot for independent artists of all kinds. At the DOORS OPEN Show, Michael Bojesen, Head of Danish State Support for Arts and Culture, and Tina Dico will represent the partnership.

The country partnership extends of course to the entire curated festival programme. We will be featuring Tina Dico, along with with singer-songwriter Calby, up-and-coming all-rounder Drew Sycamore, and maestro of cinematic soundscapes Be Svendsen. Also on show will be Nordic pop melancholiac Nicklas Sahl and the energetic grunge-goes-noise trio Baby In Vain, showing just how versatile Denmark's musical landscape really is.