About OMR Festival
The OMR Festival is a two-day event for digital marketing, tech and media, with talks, an expo and evening concerts. It takes place every May at Hamburg Messe.
What the OMR Festival is
OMR stands for Online Marketing Rockstars. What began as a conference has grown into a festival with expo stands, stages for talks and masterclasses, and concerts in the evening, all spread across the halls and outdoor areas of Hamburg Messe. It takes place every year in May over two days and draws marketers, founders, agency teams and media people from across the German-speaking world and beyond. Tickets are personalised, so have your confirmation ready on your phone.
The morning crush at the entrances
On both festival mornings tens of thousands of people arrive within a couple of hours, many on the U2 to Messehallen or the S-Bahn to Sternschanze. Car traffic on Karolinenstraße and Lagerstraße moves slowly, and parts of the forecourts may be closed to vehicles. A practical tip: ask your driver to stop a short walk from the entrance, for example on the Sternschanze side, and walk the last few hundred metres. From the airport the drive usually takes 20 to 30 minutes, but on festival mornings allow up to 45.
Arrive the day before, or straight from the plane?
Most visitors land the evening before so they can be at the doors when they open. If you fly in on the morning itself, travel light, as there is little room for a suitcase in the halls and cloakroom queues can be long. A better plan is to book the transfer to your hotel first, drop your bag and walk or take a short ride to the halls. Your driver meets you at the meeting point in your booking confirmation.
Side events across St. Pauli and the Schanze
Around the festival, agencies and tech companies host breakfasts, side events and parties all over town, many of them in the Schanzenviertel and around the Reeperbahn. Distances are short, but streets around Neuer Pferdemarkt and Holstenstraße are crowded in the evening. In some years the Hamburg Port Anniversary falls in the same weeks of May, which makes the harbour front and hotels by the water even busier.
Where festival guests sleep
Rooms within walking distance of the halls go first. The neighbourhoods of St. Pauli, Altona and the Schanze offer short ways to the festival and to the evening events; our page on hotels in St. Pauli, Altona and the Schanze notes where cars can stop at each. If you stay further out, a transfer from the airport costs you no extra changes with luggage.
Getting back to HAM
- Last day – the final sessions and concerts run into the evening, so book the return for a fixed time and leave a buffer of at least two hours before your flight
- Late arrivals – flights landing close to midnight are no problem, as the booking works the same way at any hour
- Groups – agency teams of up to seven fit a minivan, up to twelve a minibus, with the total price for the vehicle shown first
