No one would have dreamed that it would unfold in such a way," says Heinemann today. This year, 40,000 guests from 14 different countries are expected once again in the Rheinaue. About 100 artists from all over the world will be there, presenting music in genres ranging from electronic to indie, to pop or urban to the audience.

The small previous dance events with electronic music started in 2011. "A small rave by friends for friends," says Heinemann. He says there were about 200 to 250 participants who partied to the music of up-and-coming DJs from the area in the spacious Rheinaue in Beuel. The raves were organised at that time by the company "Lustig Wandern". Heinemann was a guest at the event at that time.

Although the illegal rave in 2011 faced obstacles such as noise complaints, there was another event in 2012 with about 1000 visitors. The rave was reported to the city of Bonn, according to Heinemann. "It was illegal, but at least it was tolerated," he says. The city preferred a "Rhineland solution" and set a limit for midnight, he says. In response to a GA enquiry, the city of Bonn can no longer provide information about the regulations at the time. According to the press office, it is no longer possible to clearly trace the events.

The fact that it didn't stop at an illegal rave is thanks to an agreement reached in 2013. " Lustig Wandern asked us if we wanted to take the whole thing into our own hands," Heinemann reports. He was involved in the organisation of a stage for the Rhein in Flammen event through his work at the event agency "RheinEvents". So one thing led to another. The existing infrastructure ensured that Panama could easily be moved to the Friday before Rhein in Flammen. "That's how we went from illegality to legality in 2013," says Heinemann.

Some 8000 visitors partied to German artists. "The Friday before Rhein in Flammen, which our generation takes for granted, didn't exist before, it was only established by Panama," says the managing director of Crave Events, Janina Jansen. Crave Events is an event agency that was founded in 2020 by Panama Open Air GmbH and RheinEvents. This agency has meanwhile been behind the planning of the Panama Open Air. The festival then took place from 2013 to 2015 without an entry fee before Rhein in Flammen.

The next change came in 2016, when the team decided to spin off Panama from Rhein in Flammen and to create its own two-day festival. This was accompanied not only by further musical expansions, but the team also opened a total of four stages, where major international as well as national artists were to play. At that time, the ticket price was around 29 euros, Heinemann reports. For comparison: this year, the entrance fee for the individual days costs about 70 euros on Friday, about 80 euros on Saturday and 120 euros for both days together. Nevertheless, he says, it was difficult to get the public to understand that from then on it would no longer be free. But the risk was worth it. In 2016, the festival attracted 27,000 visitors to the Rheinaue.

Until 2017, its musical focus was mainly electronic. "In 2017 and 2019, there were also artists who were not purely from the electronic scene," says Heinemann. The aim was to provide visitors with an even more diverse musical offering. Because of this, Panama 2019 partnered with a large Dutch organisation. "They support us with issues like artist bookings," says Jansen. This was followed by the pandemic-related cancellations in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the festival was able to return. About 40,000 visitors came. For Heinemann, however, it is clear: despite the growth of the festival, it should preserve the intimacy and familiarity that were already the focus of the illegal raves he witnessed himself back then.