Nachtdigital

No one in the early days would have expected it all to turn out like this, and the two people behind the festival probably least of all. 

Leo and Michel—they all only know each other by first names—both come from this often overlooked area, one of them from Luppa, the other from Grossböhla. It all began in the 1990s when they used to meet up with other young people from the area at a youth club that consisted of not much more than an old building site trailer. "We were all totally obsessed by this new sound," says Leo. They moved from the trailer into a container and then into a grain store: 

"We were 18 years old and spent all our time at parties and in record stores. It felt as if our whole lives revolved around this music. We had already organized a few raves in an old grain store in the village, that we called the Granary Rave. Now we wanted to do something outdoors, without ever having actually been to a music festival. No one in the region had a clue about techno and so we wanted to present the kind of music on our home patch that we always had to travel great distances to hear."  

However, it took a while for the festival to turn into a proper music festival. In the early days and years, bands played from the balcony of the main building to the audience down below; the party spirit was created by a small sound system. Gradually, though, Nachtdigital took shape: Steffen Bennemann took responsibility for booking bands; the facilities grew; space was found for a stage and later on even a circus tent, and an ambient aerial act. 

The slogan for the 2006 festival was Long Live Number 9!—and it was a huge success. The festival site was packed, which was why the following year they decided to limit the number of tickets: since 2007, all 3,000 tickets have been sold out every year. 

Suddenly people all over Germany (and soon elsewhere in Europe) were talking about a festival that took place once a year in the east of Germany and was fantastic not only for its well-curated program but also for its family atmosphere. Whereas when other festivals sold out, they concentrated on getting bigger, here they always focus on getting better.

The festivalgoers experienced all this at first hand, because one of the special features of Olganitz is that most of the musicians also live, sleep, and chill out in the cabins on the festival site. Parties large and small alongside the festival itself are all part of the experience. 

"Even though the lineup wasn't announced until after the tickets went on sale, we always sold out. We very much appreciated that trust in us and were very grateful for it. But we tried not to take it for granted and never lowered our standards for the lineup," recalls Leo.

The homemade food and little games that were organized throughout the festival were all part of the family experience. As were the services for people who had perhaps rather overdone the partying; the whole concept of safer use was an important element from early on. As Leo says: "Michel and I were always able to see the problems from the outside, as we don't have any experience of that kind of thing ourselves. Then you see things that other people perhaps don't notice, and that's why it was important to us for people to be able to come to us for help and education. Initially we were skeptical, in case this kind of service created the wrong impression, but the opposite turned out to be true." People who had had too much could recover over a refreshing green tea in a quiet environment and rest in a comfortable dormitory. 

All the festivalgoers slept in their own bungalows, equipped with saunas and whirlpools. Instead of children splashing around, there were DJs like Job Jobse ripping through six-hour sets, while hundreds of people danced along in their swimsuits. Bass guitars thumped in the bowling alley while the park supermarket aisles were packed with happy festivalgoers day and night. In between, there was an ambient house curated by the Pudel Club in Hamburg—and more than a few after-hours celebrations in private bungalows. For the festivalgoers it was completely mad, and probably for the experienced Nachtdigital organizers, too? 

"It was an incredible amount of hard work in a short time, but for us it has become a legend because it showed us that we can also create something amazing away from our Olganitz bubble. Everyone who was involved with it found that very inspiring and motivating. How crazy was it? Very!”

Nevertheless, it was announced that 2019 would be the last Nachtdigital festival for now. It was the end of an era for a team that had been together for over 20 years. But festival organizer Leo is keen to emphasize: "Yes, of course I miss all that, but I'm entirely happy with the decision. It was the right one, and it still is, and it brought that era to an end in the best possible way. It's always hard to let go when something has been so great." 

But even after the big goodbyes and the end of the festival, it's not all over. The festival community can look forward to another Nachtiville, this time at the Weissenhäuser Strand holiday park in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. And so it goes on, luckily: Nachtdigital is over, long live Nachtdigital/Nachtiville.