The 2018 edition of the Wacken Open Air has been chosen as the winner in the category of "best major festival" by the prestigious European Festival Awards in Groningen, the Netherlands by a combination of online voting and an expert jury consisting of promoters, booking agents, journalists, and other business professionals.

The Wacken Open Air 2018 had already received the Helga!-Award for "best festival" by the German event industry, which determines the winner through online voting in September of last year.

The promoters of the Wacken Open Air commented „We are delighted and also proud to have been awarded as 'best major festival' by the renowned European Festival Awards", says Thomas Jensen. „We gratefully thank all our staff, service providers, as well as associates and especially our fans and the bands that provide us with valuable feedback and help us to improve the festival each year. Of course, our gratitude also extends to everybody who voted for the Wacken Open Air as well as to the jury for recognising our efforts in this way.“