Music festival in Ulm: light and sound bridge over the Danube inspires!

Music festival in Ulm: light and sound bridge over the Danube inspires!

The German Music Festival began on May 29th, 2025 in Ulm and Neu-Ulm and will last until June 1st. Around 15,000 brass musicians from 450 groups from all over Germany take part in this large-scale event. The motto of the festival is: “Music builds bridges!” This idea is also reflected in the special supporting program, which is emotionally and visually enhanced by the “Sound Bridges” project. Over 500 events are planned, including gala concerts, competitions and open-air concerts that will bring together music lovers and those interested in music.

Today there is an audiovisual production on the program that creates an impressive bridge of sound and light across the Danube. The show starts at 10:30 p.m. and repeats at the same time tomorrow. This unique spectacle takes place on the Neu-Ulm bank of the Danube at the Edwin Scharff House and promises to be a highlight of the festival, as deutsches-musikfest.de reports.

Sustainability initiatives and challenges

Particularly with regard to sustainability, four events under the title “Green Waves” will also take place as part of the festival, which will deal with the topic of climate neutrality. An important element here is the “E-Mobility Experience Day”, which will be opened by Transport Minister Winfried Hermann in the Culture and Congress Center in Friedrichshafen and includes a lecture and a panel discussion. This shows that the German Music Festival not only wants to provide musical, but also social impulses.

The discussion about the sustainability of festivals in Germany has become more important in recent years. Festivals are often described as temporary small towns that attract large crowds. This results in a large number of CO2 emissions, particularly due to the arrival and departure of visitors. The “Green Music Initiative” has set itself the goal of reducing these emissions and promotes a climate-friendly music industry. Jacob Bilabel from the initiative points out that many festivals are now organizing multiple systems for the sale of drinks and food and are striving for an environmentally friendly design in order to meet the challenges of climate protection, as deutschlandfunkkultur.de explains.

However, there is also criticism that some initiatives are perceived as “greenwashing”, as many artists and organizers contribute to global warming despite their environmentally conscious messages, for example through air travel. A comprehensive and sustainable solution to this problem still lies in the future.

A significant farewell

In addition to the musical festivities, a funeral service for Karla Spagerer will also be held today at the Waldfriedhof in Mannheim. The 95-year-old club legend of SV Waldhof Mannheim hardly missed any of the third division club's home games until recently. She was not only a passionate supporter of football, but also a committed contemporary witness who reported on the Nazi era in schools and received the Federal Cross of Merit in 2022. Her death represents a great loss for the club and the region.

Overall, the German Music Festival not only offers a platform for musicians and a celebration of music, but also a stage for social issues and memories that are deeply anchored in culture.