12. July 2026
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BAP (10th July 2026, Cologne)

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

The Cologne rock band BAP celebrated their 50th anniversary in their home town’s largest permanent venue, the RheinEnergieSTADION. I was quite surprise when I read it is in fact their first ever headline show in the stadium, which is typically home of soccer club 1. FC Cologne. Many people in the Rheinland region remember 1982, when they played there (at that time, it was still the Müngersdorfer Stadion in a less modern setting with an athletics track). However, they were “just” the support act for the Rolling Stones at that time. The show became legendary, as BAP boosted the ticket sale for it – and also pushed the audience a bit more than main acts might like their support to be successful. On this 10th July 2026, BAP was the main act – and their support was Stoppok.

This posting comes with 798 major size pictures as part of the concert gallery.

 

RheinEnergieSTADION – About The Venue

RheinEnergieSTADION (named after a regional energy provider) is Cologne’s largest soccer stadium. Home of 1. FC Cologne, their home match can be attended by up to 50,000 spectators. Depending on the stage and setup, it can host stadium shows with up to 60,000 people. On that evening, there were 45,000 people. The stadium is located in Müngersdorf, a borough in the West of the city. It has a dedicated tram stop, Stadion, which is served by line 1, but also additional connections during concerts and sports events. By car, it is a short drive away from the A1 motorway / Cologne’s Northwest motorway orbiter. I already featured a very special stadium tour of the venue in 2019.

 

BAP – About The Artists

BAP is a German rock band founded in Cologne in 1976. As all other founding members have left the band, they are nowadays strongly identified with their lead singer, Wolfgang Niedecken. Niedecken was born on 30th March 1951 in Cologne and is very likely the most successful German artist singing in local dialect. Despite the band recorded multiple legendary songs like Verdamp lang her (1983), a song praising Niedecken’s father, they rarely made it to the German Top 10. Only Fortsetzung folgt (1988) did so. However, no other German band had more chart-topping albums in their home country than BAP. Any of the albums since 1981 at least peaked third in the German charts. I featured a BAP show in December 2024 in Cologne already.

Stefan Stoppok, also just Stoppok is a German singer-songwriter born on 21st February 1956 in Hamburg.. Even though he made it to the German Top 10 album charts the first time in the 2020’s, his albums and songbook are having a very high reputation in the German music scene.  His music is a mixture of folk, blues and rock. However, he is also partially using other genres in his songs.

 

BAP – The Show

While the crowds were still entering the stadium, Stoppok went on stage some ten minutes before the announced time of 18:00. His 35 minute set started with Sansibar and his classic Dumpfbacke. Songs like Alles klar and Tanz boosted the mood in RheinEnegieStadion. Stoppok closed his set with the thoughtful Mal Dein Herz an and received some big applause from the Cologne crowd.

 

Three Hours of Finest Rock with BAP

BAP are typically known for being quite in time. For their home show, they were a few minutes later than expected (20:00). The over three (!) hours set featured the whole band history. With Nemm mich met, they started their energetic show. Niedecken stated that he did not believe that the stadium will sell out that quickly, but 45,000 fans proved him wrong. They sang along from the very first moment – and Wolfgang Niedecken and his band gave them the right soundtrack for that. With Nix Wie Bessher or Alexandra, Nit Nur Do, they had some of the big tracks. However, there were also some summer vibes with songs like Müsli Man or the party track Aff Un Zo.

The middle of the set became more political. With Widderlich, Kristallnaach, and Arsch huh – Zäng ussenander, BAP gave a strong musical message against racissism. The sun was soon about to set when two songs of the Für Usszeschnigge album (1981), Frau, Ich Freu Mich and the big one, Verdamp lang her closed the ordinary set. However, there was still a seven song encore ahead, starting with Diss Naach Ess Alles Drin. Amerika was another highlight of that part of the show, before they covered Bruce Springsteen’s Hungry Heart. The 1. FC Cologne soccer club song FC, Jeff Jas! reminded of Niedecken’s love to that club. Jraduus was the chucker-out of the long, memorable Cologne rock evening.

 

 

BAP – The Gallery

Here are 798 major size pictures of the show. They are located in the concert gallery:

 

50 Years of BAP – The Playlist

I turned the setlist of the show into a playlist. Hope that helps you to revive the evening:

 

BAP – My View

Cologne loves BAP and Wolfgang Niedecken – and Germany does so, too. It is still hard to believe that the band had their first ever headline appearance in Cologne’s stadium. The motorways around Cologne were packed, the city was pumped for that show – and Niedecken and his band paid it all back. What a great evening with awesome music and a great band. 50 years after they formed and played in small venues in the Südstadt of Cologne, they finally were on stage were they belong to. And they showed (again) that they are one of Germany’s finest rock music acts. After being gifted to cover the Weird Al Yankovic show in Niagara Falls, I had another fabulous concert – and I am really thankful for that memorable experience. It is very hard to imagine that  one of these two shows will finally be the Best Concert of the Year in my 2026 year-end postings.

 

BAP – Fünfzig Jahre – die Zielgerade – Tour 2026

In late 2026, BAP are back with an arena tour through Germany and a show each in Austria and Switzerland. Here are the tour dates:

We 25.11.2026 Lingen (Germany) – EmslandArena
Fr 27.11.2026 Hamburg – Barclays Arena
Sa 28.11.2026 Düsseldorf – PSD Bank Dome
So 29.11.2026 Trier – SWT Arena
Tu 01.12.2026 Stuttgart – Porsche Arena
We 02.12.2026 Zurich (Switzerland) – Hallenstadion
Th 03.12.2026 Munich (Germany) – Olympiahalle
Fr 04.12.2026 Vienna (Austria) – Wiener Stadthalle, Halle F
Su 06.12.2026 Frankfurt (Germany) – Festhalle
Mo 07.12.2026 Leipzig – Quarterback Immobilien Arena
Tu 08.12.2026 Berlin – Uber Arena
We 09.12.2026 Nuremberg – Kia Metropol Arena
Fr 11.12.2026 Neu-Ulm – ratiopharm arena
Sa 12.12.2026 Mannheim – SAP Arena
Su 13.12.2026 Dortmund – Westfalenhalle
Tu 15.12.2026 Münster – Halle Münsterland
We 16.12.2026 Hanover – Swiss Life Hall
Fr 18.12.2026 Cologne – Lanxess Arena

 

Music & Media – Cologne

Here are all my Music & Media postings related to Cologne:

 

Food I Had Onboard

My bites and drinks on flights and trains are shown in Food I Had Onboard:

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