Pointing at a SLEEP NOT FOUND 404 tee on someone’s back at the barrier of the PYRAMID stage.
Arm up and laughing on a stage riser under a red banner, in the FERAL SIGILISM SKORT and a black and red bikini top.
A pair in HOT GIRLS LIKE TECHNO tees dancing on the sand in front of the PYRAMID stage.
FERAL FESTIVAL DIARY · AUGUST 2026

NIBIRII 2026: probably the best festival we’ve ever been to.

Words by Marketing Director, FERAL · @andie.ok · 4 minute read

NIBIRII is a festival on a lake beach in Düren, Germany. We camped from Thursday to Monday, and it was probably the best festival we’ve ever been to. This is what it was actually like.

A playground on a lake.

The location is insane. NIBIRII is on the beach, and it felt like a playground: proper sand, the water right there, perfect weather all weekend. If you wanted to, you could go wakeboarding on the lake.

Two festivalgoers on the beach in the sun, the lake and the trees behind them.
Laughing on the lake shore at sunset in a black bikini and wide-leg trousers.

And there were even little bracelet-making stations on the beach.

Making bracelets at the bead table at NIBIRII Festival: ringed hands and wristbands over trays of beads.
Showing off a finished FERAL letter-bead bracelet, tongue out, in a FERAL bikini top.

The camping was crazy (in a good way).

We stayed in one of the Premium Houses, NIBIRII’s cabins, and it felt like luxury: bedding, lighting, showers, everything. The campsite was well lit and paved, so you can drag a suitcase right to your door.

Every morning started with free barista coffee. There was a full grocery shop, so if you forgot anything you were taken care of, and a silent disco on the campsite. Getting in and out of the festival was so easy, and you’d keep running into people you knew.

We felt so taken care of. And our first morning started with techno beer yoga, which was an insane side quest.

Two festivalgoers in the doorway of cabin 34 on the NIBIRII campsite.
A photographer in a camping chair outside the cabins, checking shots on a camera.
A selfie on the campsite at sunset in a FUCKING FERAL tee, tents and a festival flag behind.
Techno beer yoga on the first morning: a can balanced on a head, in a FERAL windbreaker on a yoga mat.

Every stage was its own world.

Five stages, and every one was so different, so dynamic. Here’s how they compare.

  • PYRAMIDThe main stage, on the beach, shaped like a pyramid. Psytrance on Saturday (Neelix, Vini Vici), hard techno on Sunday (A.N.I., Fantasm, Zeuz).Where we fired the cannon.
  • UNREALHard techno all weekend. I Hate Models, Somewhen b2b Ueberrest, Hannah Laing, Marlon Hoffstadt.Most of our favourite sets were here.
  • FORESTDrum and bass, hosted by RAMPAGE on Saturday and Sunday.
  • LAGOONTrance, house and groove, on the beach.
  • HIDDENA different sound every day: psytrance on Friday, techno on Saturday, house on Sunday.NYRA here on Saturday was so much fun.
Ravers dancing under the trees in the woods at NIBIRII Festival.

The sets we’ll never shut up about.

In the order they happened, with the official start times.

  1. Saturday 14:30
    NYRAHIDDEN STAGEThe HIDDEN stage was so much fun.
  2. Saturday 19:00
    SOMEWHEN B2B UEBERRESTUNREAL STAGEHarry’s favourite set of the weekend, and it was crazy.
  3. Saturday 20:30
    I HATE MODELSUNREAL STAGEMy favourite set of the weekend.
  4. Sunday 13:00
    PARAÇEKUNREAL STAGEHe started early, and he was so fun to watch.
  5. Sunday 18:00
    A.N.I.PYRAMID STAGEAmazing. We were up on stage for this one, with a T-shirt cannon.
  6. Sunday 21:30
    CLOUDY B3B ADRIÁN MILLS B3B KUKOUNREAL STAGEThe closing set, all three of them together.
Arms up behind the decks on the PYRAMID stage, the crowd stretching back to the trees.
In the FERAL SIGILISM SKORT in front of a stage firing flame cannons.
A raver, arms up in the crowd under red light at night.

Firing A.N.I.’s jerseys out of a T-shirt cannon.

We shot with A.N.I. and fired her merch, the A.N.I. X FERAL JERSEYS, out of a T-shirt cannon from the PYRAMID stage. I’ll never shut up about hitting the cannon perfectly on the drop.

Firing a T-shirt cannon into the crowd from the stage in the A.N.I. X FERAL JERSEY.
The A.N.I. X FERAL JERSEY on the PYRAMID stage, hands making glasses, the crowd behind.

Fireworks, drones and a pizza bar.

I don’t want to know how much they spent on fireworks. That’s how good it was. This year they added a drone show during the last set, spelling out NIBIRII in the sky over the crowd, and it was so cool to watch.

Backstage even had a fresh pizza bar. Not a restaurant: they were baking fresh pizzas right there.

Fireworks over the sand at NIBIRII Festival, a raver with a FERAL fan watching them.
Arms up under red light on Saturday night, in a black and red sigil bikini.
Arms up at the stage at night, a red and white FERAL graphic on the back of the tee.

The most insane content we’ve ever shot.

We filmed the most insane content run we’ve ever done. The one everyone saw: me in a suitcase on the dance floor. (I had a wristband. It was a skit, I promise.)

We shot our unreleased skirt, now the FERAL SIGILISM SKORT, on two gorgeous German ravers.

A raver in the FERAL SIGILISM SKORT screaming under a red banner, braids flying.
Two ravers dancing on the sand in the FERAL SIGILISM SKORT, in black and white.

Watch the videos.

What we wore.

Our five days.

  1. THU 27 AUGCamping opens. Found our cabin, ran into half the people we know.
  2. FRI 28 AUGTechno beer yoga to start the first morning. The music starts at 2pm.
  3. SAT 29 AUGNYRA, Somewhen b2b Ueberrest, I Hate Models. Fireworks and drones.
  4. SUN 30 AUGParaçek early, the skirt shoot, A.N.I. and the cannon, the closing b3b.
  5. MON 31 AUGPacked up. Already talking about next year.

If you’re going next year.

NIBIRII AT A GLANCE
Where
Dürener Badesee, a lake in Düren, Germany, between Cologne and Aachen
When
The last weekend of August. NIBIRII 2027 is 27–29 August 2027
Size
About 60,000 people across the weekend in 2026, its first sell-out
Stages
Five: PYRAMID, UNREAL, FOREST, LAGOON and HIDDEN
Sound
Hard techno, psytrance, trance, house and drum and bass
Camping
Thursday to Monday, in a tent or a Premium House (a cabin)
Getting there
Train to Düren, then the festival shuttle. Nearest airports: Cologne Bonn and Düsseldorf
  • Get a cabin if you can. Bedding, lighting, showers. It changes the whole weekend.
  • Bring a suitcase. The paths are paved and lit, so it rolls all the way to your door.
  • Pack for the beach. Swimwear, sunscreen, something for the sand.
  • Stay for Saturday’s last set. That’s when the fireworks and drones go up.
  • Don’t over-pack food. There’s a full grocery shop on the campsite.

What to pack: rave essentials. What to wear: our hard techno rave guide.

NIBIRII Festival: quick answers.

What is NIBIRII Festival?

NIBIRII is an electronic music festival on the beach of Dürener Badesee, a lake in Düren in western Germany. It has five stages (PYRAMID, UNREAL, FOREST, LAGOON and HIDDEN) covering hard techno, psytrance, trance, house and drum and bass, with a campsite next to the festival grounds. It started as a club night at Bootshaus in Cologne in 2017, became a festival in 2019, and sold out for the first time in 2026 with about 60,000 people across the weekend.

Where is NIBIRII Festival?

At Dürener Badesee in Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Cologne and Aachen. Take the train to Düren and then the festival shuttle. The nearest airports are Cologne Bonn and Düsseldorf.

When is NIBIRII 2027?

27–29 August 2027, at Dürener Badesee again. Camping runs from Thursday 26 to Monday 30 August 2027.

Is NIBIRII Festival worth it?

For us, yes: probably the best festival we’ve been to. The lake beach, the stages, the fireworks and drone shows and how well the camping is run all make it feel like more than a weekend of sets.

What is the camping like at NIBIRII?

Really good. Camping runs from Thursday to Monday. We stayed in one of the Premium Houses, NIBIRII’s cabins, which have two single beds with bedding, a mini fridge, a wardrobe, a lamp, sockets and a fan. The campsite paths are paved and lit, there’s a supermarket open all weekend and a silent disco, and it’s easy to get between the campsite and the festival grounds.

What music is at NIBIRII?

Hard techno on UNREAL all weekend; on the PYRAMID main stage, psytrance on Saturday and hard techno on Sunday; drum and bass on FOREST; trance, house and groove on LAGOON; and a different sound each day on HIDDEN.

Who played NIBIRII 2026?

About 178 artists. Our highlights were I Hate Models, Somewhen b2b Ueberrest, A.N.I., NYRA, Paraçek and the closing Cloudy b3b Adrián Mills b3b Kuko. The line-up also had Hannah Laing, Marlon Hoffstadt, Cara Elizabeth, Vini Vici, Neelix, Phaxe, Fantasm and Zeuz.

What should I wear to NIBIRII?

Something you can dance in for hours that copes with sand: a bikini top or jersey, a skirt or wide jeans, and shoes you don’t mind getting sandy. Bring a jacket for the nights by the water. Our full guide: what to wear to a hard techno rave.

MORE FESTIVAL DIARIES Hive Festival, Germany: why we went and how to survive it Terminal V 2026: Edinburgh’s final bow The best hard techno festivals in Europe

see u on the dance floor.

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