Festivals and cultural events Berlin & Brandenbourg

For science enthusiasts or curious tourists, from 5 p.m. to midnight, scientific institutions in Berlin and Potsdam invite you to take a look behind the scenes with spectacular scientific experiments, exciting lectures and guided tours. The events are spread across Berlin, Wannsee and Potsdam. The program is aimed at all age groups and includes special events for students.

Throughout the year, the Berliner Festspiele stages a multitude of festivals, exhibitions and individual events in its two houses - the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in Schaperstraße and the Gropius Bau near Potsdamer Platz - as well as in other locations in the city. The annual program currently includes the festivals MaerzMusik, Theatertreffen, Musikfest Berlin and Jazzfest Berlin, as well as four federal youth competitions in the fields of theater, dance, music and creative writing.

An annual festival and platform for critical reflection on cultural transformation from a post-digital perspective. For over thirty years, it has been one of the leading international events in the field of digital art and culture. The year 2023 marked the ^36th edition of the festival, and opens with an evening of exhibition, performance and music, followed by four days of discussions, workshops and film screenings. Parallel to the festival, Transmediale presents the free exhibition Out of Scale throughout the city.

For 48 hours, the Neukölln district (renowned for its young, artistic and trendy population) devotes itself to art in all its forms, in the most unlikely of places. Concerts on a boat, street theater, installations on top of a parking lot: this is now one of Berlin's most popular festivals. The festival's theme for 2023 was Play (ground). Creative spaces were made available, showcasing the diversity of play worlds and providing a playful reflection on the challenges of times of crisis.

Tanz im August (literally "Dance in August") is the international contemporary dance festival in Berlin. In different theatres of the city (HAU, Radialsystem, Sophiensaele, Volksbühne...), the public is invited to discover a wide range of forms of body expression. Choreographers from the Berlin scene such as Sasha Waltz, but also stars from all over the world are invited to present their productions. A contemporary dance festival of the highest quality, which speaks to us in a universal language.

This international music festival, which originated in the United States, now also exists in Berlin. In 2015, the first Berlin edition of the Lollapalooza Festival took place on the runways of the former Tempelhof Airport. Since then, the festival has become well established and has taken over Berlin's cult venues: Treptower Park, the Olympiastadion, etc. While the event remains fairly mainstream, the programme offers a plethora of world-famous artists and a variety of styles. We recommend that you consult the dates and programme in advance.

Berlin's musical reputation is well established. The city has a long music-loving tradition and also has its own orchestral music festival: the Musikfest. For three weeks, orchestras and choirs from all over the world come together at the Philharmonie and Konzerthaus to perform more than 60 works. The festival not only cultivates the classical symphonic repertoire, it also seeks to reveal rarer, more unusual or forgotten works, both ancient and contemporary.

Since 1987, the Teddy Award has been honoring the best LGBTQIA+ films at the Berlin Film Festival. This makes it the oldest and most important queer film prize in the world. Above all, the Teddy Award honors films and people who communicate on themes related to social diversity, thus contributing to greater tolerance, acceptance, solidarity and equality around LGBTQIA+ themes. The year 2023 marked the ^37th Teddy Award ceremony.