Rock Hard Festival
Rock Hard Festival · Gelsenkirchen, Allemagne
The festival
Rock Hard Festival is the festival of the German magazine Rock Hard, an institution of metal overseas: created in 2003 for the magazine's 20th anniversary — after occasional editions in 1990 — it became the annual metalwork rendezvous, every weekend of Pentecost.
Its setting is unique in Europe: the Gelsenkirchen amphitheatre, in Nordsternpark Park, directly on the Rhine-Herne Canal. A single scene, about 6,500 spectators, content prizes and a programme composed by the magazine's journalists, including exclusive meetings and special sets. Since 2010, the legendary Rockpalast (WDR) program has been filming concerts and documentaries.
The next edition will be held from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th May 2027, still in Gelsenkirchen. Armored Saint's full concert, filmed by Rockpalast at the 2026 edition, looks at the ARD media library — link in our section "Festival filmed".
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Key facts
Name: Rock Hard Festival. Place: Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen, Nordsternpark, Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Organization: Rock Hard magazine. Next edition: 14-16 May 2027. Official site: rockhardfestival.de (tickets) Official contact: in the course of verification.
Filmed by pros — the big concerts
The great professional recordings of this festival, filmed by broadcasters and recording companies — hosted by their rightholders, presented here by their official integration and credit.
Armored Saint — full concert, Rock Hard Festival 2026 (on the ARD Mediathek)
Filmed by Rockpalast / WDR — full concert on the ARD media library
Official website of the festival · The entire media library "Festival filmed"
To see around the festival
Zollverein (Essen) — the former UNESCO-listed coal mine, the icon of the industrial Bauhaus. The Nordsternpark — the park of the amphitheatre, canals and meadows on the old mine. The Ruhr Museum — the history of the region, in the former laundry of Zollverein.