Stadion Wankdorf, Bern, Switzerland – June 17 & 18, 2023
As the regular blog crew was unable to go to Rammstein’s concerts in Bern, Switzerland, we recruited Gerard to write a few words and take some photos for us. «It was an incredibly good show where everyone had a blast», Gerard wrote after the show.
By KidArctica, Sez, and Gerard (Instagram: @geraaard92)
Rammstein’s two concerts in Bern were held in a stadium with the somewhat amusing name Stadion Wankdorf, the home stadium of the football club BSC Young Boys. In 1925, the first version of the stadium was erected, first with a capacity of 22.000 spectators, then in 1937 expanded to hold 40.000. Though in 1951, the grandstand was demolished in order to facilitate construction of a new and modern stadium. From 1952 and up until opening on Whit Monday 1954, Wankdorf Stadium II was built on those same grounds, a stadium that could hold 63.000 people and which hosted the finals of the World Cup between Germany and Hungary.
The second incarnation was used up until 2001, when it was again time for the stadium to get modernised, in particular for safety reasons which affected the total capacity. In 2005, the new Stade de Suisse was ready for its first game, now with a capacity of 31.120 spectators. However, the locals missed the old name, and a petition for a name change in 2004 gathered more than 10.000 signatures. Finally, in 2020, the locals got their wish fulfilled. The stadium was reverted to its original name after Young Boys and biotech company CSL Behring struck a deal. So while Rammstein played the same venue in 2019, this was their first time playing in Stadion Wankdorf.
For the record: Wankdorf is a neighbourhood in Bern, and supposedly the name comes from old German “wang” meaning green meadow on the hill and “dorf” meaning village, so in other words “village on a green meadow on the hill”. That said, the name does raise some eyebrows, in particular among English speaking visitors…
17.-18.06.2023
According to our trustworthy sources, the queueing in Bern started early, as usual. Though there was very little contact with security almost until the doors were opened. «We spent like the whole morning of Bern 1 figuring out which entrance to line up in», said Anna, who queued up early. «Because the ticket said A/B, which was the diametrically opposite of Paul’s Feuerzone (meaning we’re on Richard’s side and at the back of the stadium). But there were girls lining up since night at Richard’s(?) side saying that the entry doesn’t matter, because the tickets will be scanned regardless of the entrance. We were confused and kept asking security who were in the area where R+ trucks were, and they kept giving us tiny pieces of info. Like that all entrance will be opened at once, and there would be the same running distance from each entrance to Feuerzone. So, some people switched lines then and went to Feuerzone entrances (non-official FZ entrances, because the “official” one was only the A/B one, which was the furthest away from Paul.»
«There was no information regarding specific entry for any ticket, and in the end, they opened four entrances, one each side of the building, for everyone. Feuerzone had two extra entrances on each side», said another queuer.
Unfortunately, one side was opened before the others on the first day though, which meant that people queueing on that side got to the front row long before those on the other side. The security check and also ID check seemed random, as some people were hardly patted down, and some didn’t have their ID checked one of the days.
«One of the security people told us at some point that the A/B entrance was put on our tickets only to spread out the crowd away from other entrances – which kinda doesn’t make sense. My personal biggest takeaway from Bern security was: Have FZ entrance in ONE place, not all around the stadium. And if you have four of them scattered around, then put it on the ticket so we don’t spend the whole day solving that puzzle», said Anna, who summed it up this way: «Nice people, bad organisation.»
People also seemed to have mixed experiences with security staff. While some of those waiting in the heat got water served in cups taken from water buckets (which could have been disgusting, but luckily they used one cup only for the water, and used that to pour into other cups), other people didn’t get anything even when they asked. It is kind of unfortunate if your fate rests on which security guard you have in front of you!
As for the concerts themselves, they were reported to be really good, and the musicians seemed to be in a good mood. A few memorable moments from each show:
Day 1: For unknown reasons, police officers checked around and under the stage before the show started. Paul Landers made a scary face during Puppe cam, and Flake Lorenz had a bell on his head that he took down and started ringing when Till Lindemann stopped by. Later during Puppe, Paul visited Richard Z. Kruspe on the right side of the stage, and just before Richard was about to do his little dance, Paul grabbed the other guitarist’s head and kissed him, to the enjoyment of the fans! During Zeit, Till pretended to be sad. Richard had fun with guitar sounds before the start of Radio. During the bridge of Mein Teil, instead of Richard going to Oliver Riedel, Oliver joined Richard at the front of stage. The bassist also went to the front of the stage during Du riechst so gut, and during the freeze, Richard pointed at Paul.
Day 2: During Mein Herz brennt, there was a pyro malfunction as one of the pyro effects in front of the stage didn’t stop burning. A technician quickly put the fire out, and Till looked sternly at the burner as if he was thinking “bad pyro!” Flake held up a mirror that Till pointed his camera at during Puppe cam. During Mein Teil, Paul, Richard, and Christoph Schneider sat together in the back, and we got another kiss from Paul and Richard. During Ohne dich, Till broke character and laughed after an interaction with Paul. And during Adieu, Paul suddenly had a cable plugged into his guitar, which is quite unusual.
All in all, the intimate venue and a band that seemed to enjoy themselves made for a great experience. In the words of our guest reporter Gerard:
«The Rammstein concert in Bern, Switzerland was an amazing experience. Two consecutive concerts that left and indelible mark. It was an incredibly good show where everyone had a blast. The atmosphere was electrifying, with a dedicated crowd giving their all. It was a unique encounter between the band and their fans, filled with energy and emotions.»
17.06.2023 & 18.06.2023
- Rammlied
- Links 2-3-4
- Bestrafe mich
- Giftig
- Sehnsucht
- Mein Herz Brennt
- Puppe
- Angst
- Zeit
- Deutschland RMX
- Deutschland
- Radio
- Mein Teil
- Du hast
- Sonne
- Engel
(Piano version with Abélard) - Ausländer
- Du riechst so gut
- Ohne dich
- Rammstein
- Ich will
- Adieu
Sez and KidArctica are RammWiki editors who have been part of the website for years, working in the background with edits and content. Fun Fact: Gerard was the lucky winner of a Meet & Greet in 2022, and is the proud owner of wonderfully awesome photos of Paul Landers ‘strangling’ him.
