QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
We often receive similar questions about Euro Dance Festival, which we have summarized here. Simply click on the relevant section to open the answer. Do you have a question that we couldn't answer here? Then simply send us a message to festivals@gutmann-events.de.
TICKET AND HOTEL BOOKING
No problem! Simply use the customer tool: Via this LINK you can download your e-tickets or have them sent to you again by e-mail. Please also check your SPAM folder!
In the past, it has unfortunately become increasingly common for bookings to be made "pro forma" in order to reserve tickets and seats on a whim. Due to the previously very accommodating cancellation and no-show policy and correspondingly simple refunds, many interested parties were unable to book tickets, especially towards the end of the advance booking period, even though they had not been used. We have therefore decided to adjust the regulations in order to give all guests the chance to get their desired tickets for as long as possible. These conditions will therefore apply from 2026:
- If you cancel up to 15 days before the start of the festival, 75% of the amount you have paid will be refunded.
- If you cancel between 14 and eight days before the start of the festival, 50% of the amount you have paid will be refunded.
- Cancellations are no longer possible from the seventh day before the start of the festival!
Our tip: As the tickets are not personalized, you can pass them on to third parties at any time.
Discounts from competitions, partner promotions etc. are not taken into account here, with the exception of monetary discounts such as gift vouchers purchased in advance.
Partial refunds are not possible. Exceptions to this are bookings for several people on one invoice where individual tickets are canceled. The same time restrictions apply here as for a full cancellation.
This regulation does not apply to hotel bookings or other costs incurred in connection with the festival (such as travel, postage, etc.). The prerequisite for a refund is the notification in writing (by e-mail to festivals@gutmann-events.de or by letter [registered mail recommended] to Gutmann Events GmbH & Co. KG, Leo-Wohleb-Str. 1, 79098 Freiburg) within the above-mentioned deadlines.
The hotel accommodation is booked directly at the hotels of Europa-Park independently from the festival ticket. Benefit from the special prices during the festival time if you book with the keyword "Euro Dance Festival". Included are the rich breakfast buffet and the use of the sauna and pool areas. All details about the hotel booking can be found here.
Bring your e-ticket with you to Rust either printed out or as a PDF/Passbook/Wallet file on your smartphone. We will scan the QR code on it on site at the festival info counters - and you will also receive your admission wristband there. The info counters are open as follows:
Foyer Hotel Colosseo
Monday 16.00 - 20.00
Tuesday to Saturday (!) 8.30 - 10.00 a.m.
ATTENTION: Sunday NO check-in here!
Foyer Confertainment Center
Tuesday and Sunday 8.30 a.m. - approx. 7 p.m.
Tuesday to Saturday 8.30 a.m. - approx. 11 p.m.
The ticket only contains the name of the person who ordered it. If you have booked several tickets, the other guests do not need to be mentioned by name. This means that the ticket can easily be passed on to another person. Please note: The admission wristband for the six-day ticket must always be put on by our staff directly at check-in (the closure of the fabric band is sealed with special pliers) - therefore holders of such a ticket must appear in person. All other tickets are redeemed for paper wristbands that have an adhesive seal and can be attached by each guest themselves - so one person could take the admission wristbands for a whole group with them.
As the tickets are not personalized, this is no problem. As the invoice recipient, you pay for the ticket. The booking confirmation with the ticket in PDF form and as a Passbook file will then be sent to your e-mail address.
You can then give the ticket to the person receiving the gift, either in electronic form (PDF / Passbook file) or as a printout.
Ihr könnt online Tickets für bis zu zehn Personen gleichzeitig buchen. Die gesamte Buchung läuft dann nur auf den Namen der bestellenden Person; die restlichen Teilnehmenden müssen bei der Buchung nicht namentlich angegeben werden. Die bestellende Person holt dann vor Ort alle Einlassbändel etc. gesammelt ab (Ausnahme Sechstageskarte, siehe unten) und verteilt diese dann innerhalb der Gruppe.
Please note: The admission wristband for the six-day ticket must always be put on by our staff directly at check-in (the closure of the fabric band is sealed with special pliers) - therefore holders of such a ticket must also appear in person.
Are you more than ten guests? Please send us a message to festivals@gutmann-events.de.
Yes, we offer both evening tickets (seats can be optionally booked) for Wednesday to Saturday to visit the shows as well as social dance tickets, which offer access to all party areas after the end of the shows. You can find out more about the ticket options here and all information about the evening events here.
If you just want to go shopping at the marketplace, leave a deposit - ID card or driver's license - at the entrance in the foyer EP Dome (area "Confertainment Center"). You can then spend one hour in the EP Arena for free. Please note - if the deposit is not redeemed after 60 minutes, you will have to buy a day ticket - at full price if you enter before the lunch break, at half price if you enter during the lunch break.
We will always contact you again to be on the safe side before making a final cancellation. Please note, however, that we put seat bookings back on sale much earlier, as there is a very high demand for them. We therefore strongly recommend that you pay very promptly, ideally immediately after booking.
Send us an e-mail(shop@gutmann-events.de) with the booking number and the different billing address; we will then send you the updated invoice. Please note that we will charge a processing fee depending on the complexity and number of transactions.
The festival is aimed at adults of all ages. If you want to bring your children, they are also welcome from the age of 12. Please note: Minors also pay the regular fee and must be supervised by you at all times, especially during the evening event. Those who are 16 or 17 years old can also take part unsupervised. The evening events end after midnight, individual dance floors may remain open until the early hours of the morning. As a precaution, we would like to point out that alcoholic drinks are also sold at the drinks counters; of course, all youth protection regulations apply here.
ARRIVAL & ADMISSION (PARKING / EP-EXPRESS)
All information on how to get here, whether by car or public transport, can be found on the Europa-Park website.
For guests of the hotel resorts:
Guests of the hotel resorts can park for free in the hotel parking lots.
With your admission wristband (pick it up at one of the festival information desks) you can travel for free on the "EP-Express" elevated train between the hotels and the EP Dome area, where more than half of all offers and the evening events take place, and where the marketplace awaits you.
For day guests and guests at evening events:
Guests who are staying overnight or are only coming for one day (or only for the evening event) can park in the main Europa-Park parking lot (prices vary). Please continue towards the park entrance (use the underpass) at the level of the "Colosseo" hotel (you will see the large multi-storey "Colosseum" arch from afar). Follow the road until you reach the main parking lot. From there it is only a few minutes' walk to the entrance to the EP Dome foyer. With your admission wristband, you can then take the "EP Express" elevated train between the hotel area and the EP Dome area free of charge.
The halls in the hotel area will be open from approx. 9 a.m. onwards. Admission to the EP Dome foyer (in the "Confertainment" area) begins at around 8:30 a.m.; the halls there also open at around 9 a.m.
Admission to the EP Dome foyer ("Confertainment" area) is on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening at around 7.30 pm.
If competitions or tournaments are taking place, the admission times may also change on these days. All details can be found under the respective sub-item in the main menu "Program".
The monorail "EP-Express" connects the two festival areas "Confertainment Center" and "Hotels". Use is free for all guests. The journey takes between 10 and 12 minutes. However, to be on the safe side, you should allow between 15-25 minutes from one area to the other, including the outward and return journey to the station and any waiting time.
The first ride starts at around 8.30 a.m. at the "Hotel Resort" station, on the other side of the road opposite the "Colosseo" hotel (direct access through the underpass next to the parking deck). On Tuesday and Sunday evenings, the last trains leave approximately one hour after the end of the workshops. From Wednesday to Saturday, the last ride is around midnight.
The train runs throughout the day, weather permitting - there are usually two trains in operation on the circular route; likewise in the evening. In four out of five cases, it "fits" exactly so that you manage a complete area change between two workshops.
But of course it can also happen that a train "drives away in front of your nose". It only takes a few minutes for the second train to arrive - but if you want to be on the safe side, you can also take your car for the distance (approx. 1.5 km) and park it in the main Europa-Park parking lot (5 minutes' walk to the entrance to the EP Dome area; please note parking fees if applicable) or in one of the hotel parking lots.
Snow and ice are the exception rather than the rule at festival times. But the EP-Express has to stop in the depot or in one of the stations in case of sub-zero temperatures or ice on the track for safety reasons; also in this case the fastest way between the two festival areas is the own car.
Your e-ticket (see above). Warm clothes for the ways outside. Both for the way from the parking lot to the location, as well as to the elevated train EP-Express and between the halls.
PROGRAMM
A provisional version of the timetable is usually available online a few days before the start of advance sales. This schedule is then gradually added to. Unfortunately, some of our trainers are not yet able to make a definite commitment for the following year, even in the second half of the year, as some tournament or filming dates (especially in the case of well-known TV dancers and judges) are not yet finalized so far in advance.
Registration for the individual workshops is not required - you simply decide spontaneously on site which of the offers you want to use. If the level of the workshop is not suitable, you can leave the hall at any time and change to another workshop.
The workshops are divided into five difficulty levels. You will find a corresponding indication for each offer in the Timetable .
Beginner: Here simple basic steps and figures are shown. These workshops do not require any knowledge in the corresponding dances - but basic dance experience is an advantage.
Level 1: Basic knowledge of the respective dance is available.
Level 2: Knowledge of at least one year in the respective dance is available.
Level 3: Many years of experience in the respective dance or even first tournament experience are available.
Level 4: For coaches, competition couples B- / A- and S-class and professionals as well as dance teachers. IMPORTANT: By popular request, we have increased the level of difficulty in Level 4 (Standard / Latin); in the technique units, almost no step sequences are practiced! It is also assumed that the basic figures of the books (e.g. Alex Moore and Walter Laird) can be danced fluently. If you don't meet this requirement, you can of course watch the workshops (as a passive spectator next to the dance floor) - but to join in, we ask you to go to a level 2 or 3 workshop.
Please note: The levels are recommendations and the transitions are sometimes fluid. The trainers have been instructed to stick to the levels specified in the Timetable .
Despite all planning, it is not possible to determine in advance exactly which level is suitable and which is not. We therefore ask you to consider in advance which level is most likely to be suitable for you. For example, it does not make sense for a dance school student with little experience to choose level 3 or 4 out of pure interest. In this case, there would be the danger of getting in the way of the "dance flow" and taking little away for yourself, since detailed previous knowledge of figures and techniques is assumed to be fundamentally known here.
The workshops are usually led by world or European champions, national champions and professional dancers from the various sections. Most of them come from German-speaking countries; the language of instruction is usually German. Trainers from overseas and other (European) countries, for example, teach in English. You will find a note in the Timetable for the relevant workshops.
Every year we receive countless letters, e-mails, phone calls and posts with suggestions, tips and recommendations to please invite that sought-after trainer / dancer / choreographer or to consider that particular dance. We appreciate every tip and really look at every suggestion.
The festival grows from year to year and we will never be able to fulfill everyone's wishes. We are also now using every available space and can hardly offer any more choice for reasons of space alone.
The combination of precise analysis of the number of visitors to each individual workshop with an annually changing range of suitable alternatives allows us to introduce changes without having to wait long for the most popular options.
ALLGEMEINES
In the area of the Confertainment Center, the event catering of Europa-Park will provide you with food and drinks throughout the day (not included in the ticket price). There is also a selection of different cafés, restaurants and bars in the hotel resorts. Of course, you can also bring your own food and drinks to the festival site. You can find more information here.
Basically: We are very happy to welcome solo dancers. The majority of guests come as couples, and most of the workshops are also designed for couple dances. It is rather difficult to find a dance partner spontaneously on site, but on the festival website as well as on our Facebook page you have the possibility to search for a dance partner in advance.
For this purpose, use the Dance Partner Search page here directly on the homepage or our Facebook group "Euro Dance Festival Dance Partner Search".
Have you lost something? For lost property in the hotels, please ask at the respective hotel reception. Lost property in the Confertainment Center will initially be collected at the festival information desks and handed in to the Europa-Park found office (Tel: +49 7822 77 28100 or e-mail: fundbuero@europapark.de) after the festival has ended.
FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The Euro Dance Festival is Europe's largest dance festival. It takes place twice a year: in spring over six days at Europa-Park Rustin summer on four days at the Ballhaus Freiburg. It offers a wide range of different dance styles for both absolute dance professionals and newcomers: from standard and Latin to West Coast Swing, Tango Argentino, Salsa, Bachata and many more.
The festival for: Dance school and hobby dancers
Get to know the whole variety of dancing! New steps, technique, posture, but also new or rarer dances are on the program. In the evening, you can try out what you have learned on several dance floors, and the shows by world stars will give you a magical time.
The festival for: Dance teachers and trainers
In addition to a lot of fun and contacts, the festival offers you one thing above all: new material for your lessons, taught by the best trainers in the world! Benefit from many new figures, technique trends and special dances and learn interesting combinations and techniques in the workshops, which you can easily incorporate into your own dance style.
The festival for: Competitive dancers
Nothing is more exciting than learning techniques and figures first-hand from the world's best couples. You also have the chance to expand your existing knowledge of new dance styles.
In spring: in the event halls of Europa-Park in Rust near Freiburg. Europa-Park is Germany's largest theme park with over six million visitors a year. The festival uses the conference and seminar rooms in the "Confertainment Center" as well as halls in the park's resort hotels, while the park itself remains closed during this time. Just over half of the workshops and evening events take place in the "Confertainment Center" area, where the marketplace is also located.
In summer: at the Ballhaus Freiburg. The multifunctional building, built in 2016 within walking distance of the historic old town, offers almost 2500 square meters of dance floor for the highest demands.
Europa-Park Rust:
2026: 17. - 22.02.
2027: 09. - 14.02.
2028: 29.02. - 05.03.
2029: 13. - 18.02.
2030: 05. - 10.03.
Ballhaus Freiburg:
2026: 30.07. - 02.08
2027: 29.07. - 01.08.
2028: 27. - 30.07.
2029: 26. - 29.07.
2030: 25. - 28.07.
The event is organized by Gutmann Events GmbH & Co. KG and Europa-Park in cooperation with Cordell GmbH. The Freiburg dance school Gutmann acts as a consultant.