German heatwave cancels major summer festivals and half marathon

A severe heatwave in late June 2026 led to the cancellation of several high‑profile events in Germany and the Netherlands. The Hamburg Half Marathon was called off for the first time in its history, while the Kessel Festival in Stuttgart and the Hype Festival in Cologne were also abandoned after just one day. In the Netherlands, the hard‑style Defqon.1 festival in Biddinghuizen was cancelled shortly after thousands of visitors arrived.

Weather experts Bernhard Mühr, Kim Werner and event consultant Falco Zanini warned that record‑breaking temperatures of 30 °C to over 40 °C are becoming more common and pose major challenges for event planning. They noted that the heatwave was forecast weeks in advance, giving organizers a window to adapt future concepts to extreme heat conditions.