The festival for ALL – DEFENDER supports accessibility at ROCKHARZ

Germany’s ROCKHARZ Festival has always been a special one. Originally started under the name “Rock gegen Rechts” (“Rock against the Right”), the metal festival in the Harz region has steadily developed and adopted new, important values: sustainability, environmental awareness, regionality, and inclusion. At the beginning of July 2023, almost 24,000 music fans headed to the grounds of the Ballenstedt airfield for four days to enjoy the performances of Blind Guardian, In Flames, Arch Enemy, and many more for what was the 30^th anniversary of the festival. To make this year’s ROCKHARZ a great experience for ALL visitors, the organisers decided to use cable protectors from the DEFENDER MIDI 5 2D modular system.

DEFENDER_Rockharz-Festival_Kabelbrücke_MIDI52D

“When it comes to accessibility, most people only think of wheelchair users,” says Marco Spiller, Chairman of Lebenshilfe Braunschweig and, with “Rock in Rautheim”, himself the organiser of a metal festival that was awarded the Lower Saxony Inclusion Prize in 2023. “However, it equally affects other people with walking impairments, blind people, or people with mental impairments who may have problems with uneven surfaces. With this in mind, the DEFENDER cable protection systems in the wide version give people more safety and literally break down barriers.”

A total of 60 DEFENDER MIDI 5 2D cable protectors – including the MIDI 5 2D R wheelchair ramps – were laid by the team led by Kai Wilhelm from Veruga GmbH. “With the wheelchair ramps, the cable protection systems can be easily installed anywhere on the site on any surface. In addition, the ramps are compatible with other products, some of which we had already laid, so we were able to create a wheelchair crossing at these points as well.”

A decisive contribution to the functioning of accessibility at the ROCKHARZ festival is made by Björn Schulz, who, as inclusion officer, takes care of any problems that arise on site – and, as a wheelchair user, knows exactly what stumbling blocks can lurk for people with disabilities at a festival:

“For me, inclusion at a festival means that I can celebrate with my friends and have a good time together with all disabled groups.”
Björn Schulz, inclusion officer ROCKHARZ

“When the request came from ROCKHARZ, we were very happy to be part of the inclusion concept,” explains Anne Wipperfürth, Brand Marketing Manager AH Stage Equipment & Safety Brands. “This is exactly what we stand for at DEFENDER as part of the Adam Hall Group: we want to give everyone the opportunity to experience live events first-hand.”