Hannover VW Bus Festival 2023

It's show season and whilst we can't be at every event, every weekend we do know a few folk who are able to tell us all about the good bits and take a reasonable photo too. Friend of Heritage, Chris Redford was out and about in his T4 and found himself in Hannover, Germany for the VW Bus Festival. Here's what he had to tell us about it. Additional photos by Heritage team member Thorsten Boeteljann.  

The event is held on a scale that's hard to comprehend. The festival site is the Messegelände, the second largest exhibition centre in the world and the site of the World Expo in 2000. The car parks are converted into campsites for the weekend and there is no expense spared by Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge ("Commercial Vehicles"). There were 80,000 visitors and over 6,000 vans camping. They even deliver a breakfast bag with fresh bread rolls to every van on site each morning! 

As Volkswagen enthusiasts, we're spoilt for choice when it comes to events. However, until fairly recently, the Volkswagen company didn't really take advantage of the loyal following their cars and vans had built up. That was until 2007 when they staged their first company-run festival in Hannover, Germany. I attended that year and was blown away. Therefore when they announced that they were doing it again, 15 years later, in 2023, I knew I had to get a ticket and prepare for another pilgrimage to the birthplace of my van. 

After crossing the channel a 450-mile road trip lay ahead of me. You could do it all in a straight 7-8 hour drive but I opted to take my time and stop off at places of interest in Belgium and Holland on the way there. Upon arrival, I checked my van in, was given a wristband and window stickers, and was directed to my camping zone. The campsites spread so far out from the festival that they range from being right at the gates to a 30-minute walk away. Mine was a 15-minute walk from my van to the main stage - the central area of the exhibition center, which is turned into a "VW Disneyland" for the weekend. 

There's so much for everyone to see and do. The festival program starts on Friday lunchtime with a convoy from the VW factory on the other side of the city to the showground. When it arrives at the festival the entertainment starts and carries on through to 3 pm on Sunday. There was a kid's entertainment area with a huge inflatable bouncy campervan in the middle. Several of the rarer exhibits from the VW museum in Wolfsburg were transported to Hannover for the show. They had halls where they promoted their latest vans including the as yet not in production ID. Buzz long wheelbase. There was another hall showing the timeline of a VW restoration process, another with a 360° immersive experience, and another with a parts market for both new and used parts. There was very little that wasn't available no matter what age your vehicle may be.

The central square was home to the main stage which was a similar size to what you'd get at most major music festivals. The lineup wasn't the best for English visitors as the acts were all only famous in Germany but the locals seemed very impressed and after the headline act, a German rap group called the "Fantastischen Vier" on Saturday night, there was a drone "fireworks" display which was mesmerizing.

There was also a Ferris wheel which was free to ride and took you up high for impressive views over the showground.

As for food and drink, there were bars all over the site as the Germans are well known for their love of beer, plus plenty of food vendors, most of whom were trading out of converted VW vans. 

There were show and shine competitions held over all 3 days for various categories, some traditional and others a little more unconventional. I entered two; 'The Greatest VW love story' and 'Best VW Tattoo'. I won a first-place trophy in the former category but although I placed in the final round of the tattoo competition I didn't win. I did however get to shake hands with Ewan McGregor when he came on stage to present the trophy! 

Tickets for the festival were only €29 and everyone got a welcome pack which included a T-shirt and other goodies which were worth way more. My channel crossing cost me £200 and it took two tanks of fuel to get there and back. For such an incredible experience it was well worth the money!

There weren't that many English visitors at the show which means I saw a lot of vans that I'd never seen before. The Germans were incredibly hospitable and the majority spoke very good English.

As a final bonus on the way out of Hannover, I stopped at the VW factory to take a photo of my van where it was born. Having attended two of these shows now I can only hope they hold another, I just hope it's not another 15-year gap until the next!

Our thanks to Chris for putting this great show report together for us. If this has inspired you to go on a VW adventure then fantastic - and if you would like to share your adventures with us, then even better!

Andy