5001, a Music Festival in a soviet bunker in Berlin

In the absence of news after 9 months without music festivals, and facing an uncertain future with probably more possibilities than we want to accept to repeat a fateful summer that would surely end up burying part of the industry that we love so much, I looked back searching for bizarre or unknown music festivals. And I found the 5001 festival, which was scheduled to take place in August 2018 at Bunker 5001 (also called the "Honecker Bunker"). A place built in Wandlitz (Brandenburg) in 1983 to protect East Germany's top commanders during a nuclear strike, just a few kilometers far from the German capital.

Hidden in the forests north of Berlin and declared a historical monument in 2003, the secretive bunker was utilized as the main headquarters for East Germany’s National Defense Council prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall. With the ability to withstand chemical, biological and nuclear attacks, the underground facility was formerly kitted out with decontamination chambers, a control center and a self-sufficient power supply. 

As I said, I don't even know if it ever happened, although the absence of news on Google makes us think that it never took place. However, along with on-site camping, 5001 festival planned to have stages in the surrounding woods and a barrack on the bunker site throughout the three days of techno and ambient music, with artists already confirmed such as Antigone, Shlømo, Rachel Lyn or François X.

A curious anecdote, on the other hand, so typical of a Berlin that still holds so many secrets under its surface.