If 2009 is to have a Summer of Love, the season's biggest event may take place at a former Nazi airfield.

Woodstock's chief promoter has announced plans for two free concerts in honour of the US festival's 40th anniversary, first in New York and then Berlin. But while the original 1969 gig took place at an obscure American farm, the German remake may occur at Berlin Tempelhof, Adolf Hitler's "favourite airport".

Promoter Michael Lang and his partners are still seeking sponsors for the events, scheduled for 15 and 16 August in New York, then 22 and 23 August in Berlin. They hope to attract contemporary acts as well as some of Woodstock's original participants, including the Who, the Grateful Dead, Neil Young and Santana. No acts or venues have been confirmed so far.

Reports of the Woodstock gigs first appeared at the website of Media Consulta, a major international PR firm based in Berlin. In comments that have since disappeared, organisers described Tempelhof airport as "an ideal backdrop" for the relaunched festival of peace and love.

Philipp Stoehr, a rep for Media Consulta, confirmed to the Berliner Morgenpost that the company was "actively planning and currently acquiring sponsors" for the Berlin event.

The Tempelhof airfield was taken out of service on 31 October 2008 and city officials have since struggled to figure out what to do with it. Suggestions for the inner-city airport's 49 giant buildings, seven hangars and 9,000 offices include converting it into an enormous red-light district or a 1,000 metre high mountain. Officials have not confirmed or denied the Woodstock reports, according to Der Spiegel.

Though the seminal rock festival was revived for a short run in the 1990s, there has not been a Woodstock since 1999. That festival ended in disarray, with fires, mischief and traffic jams replacing flowers, idealism and free love.