The (aka ) was an annual outdoor music event in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

held for the first time in 1993 and halted in 2006. In various locations of downtown Cologne stages were set up and live bands performed and also other events were presented. The Ringfest used to be held at the

MediaPark The MediaPark is an urban regeneration neighborhood in Cologne, Germany, completed by the turn of the millennium. It was set up to accommodate companies of the media industry, media and communication industry, as well as cultural institutions, a ...

, on the Cologne Ring and the Neumarkt square. In 1993 some visitors attended the festival already, growing to around people in 1997, causing the organizers to claim the event to be the world's largest music festival. In 2005, about visitors attended the festival. The Ringfest was held for the first time in 1993. Approximately 200 bands have performed each year. Famous German groups such as Selig, Element of Crime, Die Fantastischen Vier, Brings, Fettes Brot, Caught in the Act, Söhne Mannheims, Guano Apes, H-Blockx, ,

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, Götz Alsmann,

Jürgen Drews Jürgen Ludwig Drews (; born 2 April 1945) is a German Schlager music, schlager singer. Life Drews was born in Nauen near Berlin, and brought up in Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Schleswig. His father's family is descended from Huguenots, bu ...

, Anne Haigis,

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, Reamonn, and

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, local bands such as Bläck Fööss, Höhner, , , , , Renate Otta,

Die Firma Die Firma is a German hip hop group formed in Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germ ...

and , as well as international stars such as

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, Sparks, Joshua Kadison,

Runrig Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. From its inception, the band's line-up included brothers and songwriters Rory MacDonald (musician), Rory MacDonald (bass, vocals) and Calum MacDonald (musician), Calum ...

, The King, Julian Dawson, Cardigans, Manowar,

Paul Carrack Paul Melvyn Carrack (born 22 April 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and composer who has recorded as both a solo artist and as a member of several popular bands. The BBC dubbed Carrack "The Man with the Golden Voice", while '' ...

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and Geri Halliwell have also performed. Since 2006 the Ringfest has not been held any longer. The organizers have justified the lack of organization with the difficulties of the music market. In the last three years of its life Ringfest held parallel to the music fair

Popkomm Popkomm was an international trade show for the music and entertainment business during the 1990s and 2000s, and also integrated a congress and festival. It was held in Cologne for most of its existence, later moved to Berlin with entries from at ...

, which has taken place in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

since 2004. Since 2004, the festival has been held in Cologne. The festival focuses on electronic pop music. At the premiere 2004 visitors attended the festival.

References

External links

c/o pop festival homepage
{{Authority control Music festivals in Germany 1993 establishments in Germany 2006 disestablishments in Germany Music festivals established in 1993 Recurring events disestablished in 2006 Annual events in Germany