Kölle, alaaf you!

The second Harley Dome Cologne was a complete success

• More than 12,000 visitors to the event area at the Tanzbrunnen
• Large trader area, history exhibition, after-show party and parade
• Live rock from Michael Schenker and Cologne stars, among others

Under the motto “More Bikes, more Music, more Cologne”, the venerable cathedral city was upside down for a whole weekend: From May 23rd to 24th, Cologne was in a party mood because the Harley Dome Cologne took place in North Rhine-Westphalia's largest metropolis for the second time . The heart of the event beat on the right bank of the Rhine, because only from here you have the perfect view of the cathedral and the picturesque old town. But the stars of the event were not Cologne's landmarks, but thousands of motorcycles. Over 12,000 bikers, party and music fans came from near and far to meet friends, talk petrol and celebrate.

On Friday evening, motorcyclists filled the quaint streets of the old town, the Hard Rock Cafe hosted a meet and greet party with guitarist Jimmy Cornett, and the evening ended with cocktails in the Ice Bar of the Hilton Hotel.

From Saturday onwards, the organizers had a lot of fun at the event area at the Tanzbrunnen: even more accessories, fashion and food stands than at the debut event last year encouraged people to stroll, feast and shop. In addition to the chilled out beach club on the banks of the Rhine, this year there were drink islands and plenty of seating on the grounds as well as an after-show party on Saturday to relax. The US manufacturer’s dark factory custom bikes and the German “Custom Kings” were presented in a dark custom area.

The large exhibition marking the anniversary of the Harley-Davidson Electra Glide with original machines from the model's fifty-year history attracted numerous visitors to the Tanzbrunnen Theater. And right next door you could test drive the latest V-twin versions from Milwaukee, after all, the big Harley trucks had brought a whole armada of current bikes to Cologne especially for this purpose.

The bike photo shoot and the Jeep adventure course put a big grin on the faces of the visitors. The artfully converted custom bikes, which competed against each other in a large contest, stimulated a number of technical discussions. However, it wasn't just the many V-Twins who were responsible for providing befitting good vibrations, as strong bands rocked the large open-air stage on both days. The highlights included Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock on Saturday evening and the crème of Cologne's music scene on Sunday.

Of course, the bikers didn't miss the opportunity to show Cologne the reference with a big parade. Under the motto “Against intolerance in road traffic”, the steel wyvern made up of around 5,500 machines snaked its way across the Rhine and across the city on Saturday - to the delight of the people of Cologne and all the guests, because it is rare to see so many Harleys in action. A successful event and a reason to celebrate again next year. More information will be available shortly at www.harleydomecologne.de .

Text copyright Harley-Davidson Germany GmbH (Image credit: Rösler/Rieger/Harley-Davidson)