Parklichter Bad Oeynhausen – The Festival with Music Fireworks

Open-Air Concerts in the Historic Spa Park

The Parklichter is the musical flagship of Bad Oeynhausen, the spa town in the Mühlenkreis Minden-Lübbecke (East Westphalia). The venue alone is worth the trip: the 26-hectare Kurpark, an English landscape garden with historic colonnades, a spa house, and a concert shell. Staatsbad Bad Oeynhausen GmbH uses this area once a year for three days of open-air concerts, family entertainment, and elaborate music fireworks.

The Three Days – Friday, Saturday, Sunday

The festival has followed a clear structure for years:

• Sparkassen Concert Friday – a major headliner evening with current top acts from the German pop and soul scene
• Parklichter Saturday – traditional main event with an open-air concert followed by music fireworks; usually with a retro or genre focus (90s party, Schlager, rock classics)
• Family Sunday – free admission, play paradise for children, stage program, city activities

The Music Fireworks

The aerial fireworks on Saturday evening, choreographed to live and recorded music, are the true trademark of the Parklichter. They are launched in front of the Kurpark concert shell, with the audience sitting around on blankets, picnic baskets, and folding chairs on the festival meadow. The choreography has been musically adapted to the respective main act for years.

Bad Oeynhausen – Spa Town with Festival Culture

Bad Oeynhausen is located on the eastern edge of North Rhine-Westphalia, transitioning into the Weser Uplands. The city, with around 50,000 inhabitants, has been a recognized spa resort since the 19th century: brine springs, ten rehabilitation clinics, and the internationally renowned Heart and Diabetes Center NRW have given Bad Oeynhausen the reputation of being one of Germany's most important spa towns. The Kurpark, designed by Prussian garden director Lenné, has been the heart of this identity since 1853 – and since the 2000s, also the stage for the Parklichter.

The Festival in the OWL Summer Calendar

In the East Westphalian-Lippe event calendar, the Parklichter mark the transition from summer to late summer. Those living in the region – whether in Minden, Herford, Bielefeld, or the Lipper Bergland – know the festival as a reliable must-attend event. Tickets for the Sparkassen Concert Friday and Parklichter Saturday are usually sold out, while Family Sunday is free to enter.