MAYDAY Festival (Dortmund, Germany) 2027

About

MAYDAY is Germany’s longest running indoor rave, and its next edition takes place on Friday 30 April 2027 at the Westfalenhallen in Dortmund. The night runs for 12 hours, from 19:00 to 07:00, across four floors with more than 30 DJs, according to the organisers.

What is MAYDAY?

MAYDAY started in December 1991, when around 5,000 ravers gathered in a Berlin hall for one of the country’s first large scale indoor raves. The event later settled in Dortmund, and the organisers at I-Motion still call it The Mother of All Raves. Speedy J, who played the first edition in 1991, returned for the 2026 edition on the TechnoLegends floor.

The 2026 edition, themed ICONIC, gave a clear idea of the current sound: Klangkuenstler, Lilly Palmer, Paul Elstak, I Hate Models and Schrotthagen were on the bill, hard techno moved into the Arena and Bounce and Raw Techno took over the Empire floor. It is one of the few indoor events in Europe that puts classic techno and harder rave styles under one roof, which makes it a useful stop on any music festival calendar for spring.

Who is playing MAYDAY 2027?

No acts for MAYDAY 2027 have been published yet. The organisers say the first names will be announced through their newsletter and social channels, and this page will be updated when the line-up drops.

How do tickets and travel work?

Friends eTickets for 2027 are on sale at 69 EUR including fees, and entry is from 16 years old. Every admission ticket includes free travel on VRR buses, trams and regional trains in the Rhine Ruhr area from 30 April until 12:00 on 1 May 2027. The event is cashless, and credit can be topped up about two weeks before the night.