“The music stopped, a siren started wailing, flashes of light. And when the bass came in again, all hell was let loose and I realised: the future has arrived!”

That's how many experienced it at that time - those who invented "ravin", in December 1991, at the first MAYDAY. Last year, two decades later, 27,000 visitors celebrated the 20th anniversary - a record! A golden festival that overwhelmed many. "Twenty Young" underlines the special position of the "Mother of all Raves", which is a role model for countless parties from Holland to Russia and from Japan to South America. MAYDAY has grown into a brand over two decades and it is certainly high time it was presented with an award: the hallmark of outstanding quality "Made in Germany".

This hallmark has for a long time stood for the best quality Germany has to offer. Products from key areas of industry such as mechanical engineering and the car industry bear this mark and conquer the global markets. And if anyone hadn't realised it before, it was the 2006 World Cup in Germany which conclusively showed to the world: they can even party, the Teutons! The stereotype of the bourgeois Germans was laid to rest - which you could have actually guessed back in 1991 after the first MAYDAY. It was at that time that something came into being which still today has a positive impact all over the world, for MAYDAY saw the birth of the rave and in turn a new and highly successful export. And with it, values such as tolerance, respect and openness.

It's not the first time that the crucial momentum for a musical epoch has come from Germany: Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Wagner were "pop stars" of classical music. Today they go by such names as Paul van Dyk, Sven Väth and Westbam. The sound: in keeping with the digital age. They are ambassadors of a peaceful and tolerant musical culture made in Germany. And millions dance to it, at raves à la Mayday formula. Even the Goethe Institute, which fosters German culture around the world, has recognised it as an "important German cultural export".

MAYDAY "Made in Germany" - that's an invitation to the world, more tempting than ever: over 50 DJs and LiveActs will be coming to Dortmund. Certainly not just from Germany because numerous other nations are sending their most innovative artists to the Mayday homeland as well. And with the 2011 anniversary floor "Twenty Young Dome" remaining, the spirit of the first years will also be omnipresent in the venerable halls of the Westfalenhalle. As will MAYDAY's global spirit:

Welcome to Germany! Welcome to MAYDAY!