Ferropolis traded its mining past for a four-day celebration of queer culture when WHOLE Festival returned to Germany from 17 to 20 July. Set beside Lake Gremmin, the open-air site brought music, performance and self-expression together among vast industrial structures, woodland and water. The result was more than a festival line-up: it was a place designed to let people feel at home.

Essential takeaways

  • A striking setting: Ferropolis combines huge mining machines, forest paths and a lakeside beach.
  • Room to be yourself: WHOLE welcomes a wide range of styles and identities, without asking everyone to dress or act alike.
  • A varied programme: The festival moves between electronic sounds, live performances, drag and different dancefloor moods.
  • An international crowd: Artists and collectives from different queer scenes meet on the same site.
  • Practical note: Check the official timetable before heading out, as acts and stages are spread across the grounds.

Ferropolis makes an unforgettable first impression

WHOLE Festival doesn’t ease you in gently. At Ferropolis, towering mining machinery looms over the site, giving the dancefloors a dramatic industrial backdrop. A few minutes’ walk can take you from that iron-heavy scale into the trees, or towards a beach where the music meets the lake.

The contrast is the point. Ferropolis, near Gräfenhainichen in Saxony-Anhalt, is a former open-cast mining site that now hosts cultural events among its enormous machines. Visit Dessau describes the site as an open-air museum, and WHOLE makes striking use of its mix of industry, woodland and water.

A queer festival where there’s no single way to belong

WHOLE’s strongest quality may be how little it asks visitors to fit a mould. Elaborate looks and everyday clothes sit side by side; gender expression can be bold, understated, fluid or anything in between. The feeling is less of a fashion parade than a crowd given permission to show up as it is.

That openness is part of the festival’s appeal. Attitude’s review of WHOLE 2025 also highlighted the event’s atmosphere of freedom and self-expression. And while the setting and styling can be spectacular, nobody needs an elaborate outfit to take part.

Follow the music, or find your own pace

The programme spans a broad range of sounds and performance styles, so the weekend needn’t revolve around one stage or genre. The official timetable lays out sets across the site, while Resident Advisor’s coverage offers a wider view of WHOLE’s place in queer electronic music.

Some of the best moments may happen away from the main dancefloors. At the lakeside, people can swim, rest or chat between sets; in the forest, another crowd and another rhythm can be waiting just around the corner. It’s a welcome reminder that a festival weekend doesn’t have to be four days of constant dancing.

International scenes meet on the dancefloor

WHOLE brings together artists and audiences from across the queer underground. The 2025 programme included performers and DJs such as JASSS, Juliana Huxtable, Miss Kittin, Octo Octa, SHERELLE and HAAi, alongside a much wider roster of artists and collectives.

A particularly telling example was the presence of Mexican artists Mikita and KVKN, representing PERVERT MX on the Forest stage. Their sets reflected the wider exchange between queer nightlife communities from different places: local scenes arrive with their own sounds and references, then share the same dancefloor.

What to know before you go

With several distinct areas across a large site, it’s worth checking the official timetable before setting off for a particular act. Give yourself time to move between stages, and leave space for the lake, woodland and quieter corners as well as the headline sets.

WHOLE also includes spaces for performance, community and sexual expression. The overall picture is one of a festival where pleasure and visibility sit alongside music, not apart from it. For many people, that shared sense of ease may be just as memorable as the setting itself.

A weekend at WHOLE is as much about finding room to be yourself as finding your next dancefloor.

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