Breakpoint was a German demoscene party. From 2003 to 2010, it took place annually at Easter in Bingen. Breakpoint was the successor to the legendary Mekka & Symposium. With over 1000 visitors, it was the world's biggest pure demoscene-party, attracting demosceners from not only Germany, but also from other European countries (e.g. Sweden, Finland, Poland, Spain), or even from overseas (for example Australia, Canada). The party was also the traditional host of the Scene.org Awards ceremony. History The concept of Breakpoint was born in late 2002 when internal tensions within the Mekka & Symposium organizing team made another M&S party impossible. Part of the remaining organizing team teamed up with organizers of other German demo parties like Dialogos, Evoke and the Ultimate Meeting, and decided to create a new demoscene party for Easter. The location was changed, from the northern city of Fallingbostel to Bingen, a small town near Frankfurt. The party place was decided to be an abandoned military depot out at the city borders. Breakpoint 2003 proved to be an unmatched success among demosceners who attended. Both veterans and newcomers applauded the party's incredible atmosphere and almost literally unlimited freedom, often designated by a large (often 25–30-feet tall) bonfire. (The nearest residents lived kilometers away from the party, thus noise pollution and the general rowdiness was never an issue.) Criticisms of the party were minor, but pointed out that due to the failure of one of the heating pipes, the party hall became freezing during the night - this was actually parodied in various demos released there, entitling the party "Freezepoint". Breakpoint 2004 saw a major change in the funding of the party: ATI Technologies became the main sponsor of the event, and apart from the lucrative prizes, offered various other events such as seminars and workshops. Also, ATI was sponsoring a helicopter flight for willing visitors over the hills of the Rhine-region. The sponsorship remained constant until 2006. The party was an inarguable success, although not as buoyant as its precursor, especially considering that the heating issues from the year before turned out to be unsolvable due to the structure of the hall which served as a party hall — this caused the party to be even colder than the previous year. Breakpoint 2005 caused some sad moments to the demoscene when it was announced that the military depot was scheduled for condemnation by the German government,