Each year, the city of Berlin offers a growing list of festivals, parades, celebrations, and annual cultural highlights. Boasting over 1,500 events daily, the German capital promises an exciting event program in 2015, from museum nights, design festivals and symphonies to outdoor fairs, fashion shows and culinary highlights.
This list features some of the top recurring events, including their scheduled dates for the spring and summer of 2015:
Berlin Fashion Week – January 19-23, 2015 & July 7-10, 2015
Twice a year, in the winter and in the summer, Berlin transforms itself into an international location for fashion and lifestyle. The Berlin Fashion Week features catwalks, off-site events and trade shows. Style enthusiasts, buyers, trade experts and the media interact mix and mingle at fashion shows and awards ceremonies. The most important events include the Mercedes-Benz Berlin Fashion Week with shows on “Straße des 17. Juni” at the Siegessäule and Brandenburg Gate. Various events and locations.
27th transmediale – January 28 – February 1, 2015
In a world that is going digital at break-neck speed, the transmediale Festival of Art and the creative application of digital media provides important information for the path forward in our increasingly interconnected world. Featured will be performances, workshops and installations at Haus der Kulturen der Welt. Exact program info will be announced at a later time.
65th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) – February 5-15, 2015
February in Berlin is traditionally all about film: international stars on the red carpet, enthusiastic fans, film buffs from around the world – and, above all, some great films. The annual Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) is not only the city’s largest cultural event, but also one of the most important dates for the international film industry. In 2014, more than 325,000 tickets were sold, and almost 20,000 professional visitors from 124 countries, including around 3,700 journalists attended the event: art, glamor, parties and business are all inseparably linked at the Berlinale.
eat! Berlin Festival – February 21 – March 1, 2015
This festival celebrates the culinary scene of the German capital. After the huge success of eat! Berlin Festival in 2014, Berlin’s best chefs, many of them decorated with Michelin stars, will be at it again, cooking up special gourmet menus in restaurants and other unique locations throughout the city. The culinary events are co-hosted by German actors, musicians, and politicians. Not only food will be served as music, literature and films will accompany the dinners. The festival also hosts workshops, cooking and baking classes, wine tasting, and, of course, parties.
20th Festival Days at the Staatsoper Berlin – March 27 – April 6, 2015
A highlight on Berlin’s classical music calendar, the Staatsoper Festival Days will again be presented at the Schiller Theater and the Philharmonie concert hall. Every year, highly acclaimed artists present two musical theatre productions and three concerts with Daniel Barenboim either conducting or at the piano. The 2015 opera productions will again focus on Richard Wagner. Additionally, the concert program will be a »Hommage à Pierre Boulez«, in recognition of the great French composer/conductor’s 90th birthday.
Walpurgisnacht – Night of the Witches – April 30, 2015
The ancient custom of chasing away the evil cold-weather spirits of winter on the eve of May will be carried on at the Kulturbauerei former brewery complex with the capital’s largest and most beautiful bonfire. Acrobatic performances, as well as all-night dancing on nine dance-floors with 20 DJs plus live bands will surely welcome springtime in style. (Schönhauser Allee 36).
Gallery Weekend Berlin – May 1 – 3, 2015
More than 50 of Berlin’s most influential galleries open their doors during the Gallery Weekend Berlin to present contemporary art during this three-day event; art lovers, design fans, and curators can explore Berlin’s creative scene through numerous openings, guided tours, parties, and special events. Various galleries.
Mozart in May – May 1 – 31, 2015
What can be better than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Komische Oper in spring time? This festival will feature operas, chamber- and symphony concerts of the immortal composer.
Carnival of Cultures – May 22 – 25, 2015
In celebration of the cultural and ethnic diversity found in the German Capital, the Carnival of Cultures will host about 1 million enthusiastic patrons in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district. Presenting a colorful parade with more than 100 groups, 4,700 dancers, singers and musicians hailing from some 80 nations, the “Carnival of Cultures” has become one of Berlin’s most popular annual events. The parade takes place on May 24 and is accompanied by a street festival featuring performances, concerts, and food and drink from around the world. To be confirmed!.
11th Open Air Gallery – June 7, 2015 and July 6, 2015
On two Sundays, the Oberbaum Bridge, which connects the Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain districts, will be closed for through traffic. That’s when more than 100 artists take over the picturesque bridge spanning the Spree River to present their work under the summer sky. The event showcases painting, photography and sculpture and attracted over 50,000 visitors in 2014. Open Air Gallery (website in German only) is an intimate mix of new and established artists, and the atmosphere is decidedly relaxed.
DMY International Design Festival – June 10 – 14, 2015
Berlin has long been recognized as a center for contemporary design and in 2006 was awarded the UNESCO title “City of Design”. The DMY design festival invites both emerging and established designers to present new products and projects. The exhibition is accompanied by panel talks, discussions, and workshops that explore current topics as well as future trends of contemporary design. The central exhibition of the festival takes place at Airport Tempelhof.
Long Night of the Sciences – June 13, 2015
Did you ever want to spend a night at the museum? At the Long Night of the Sciences you can. Lectures, guided tours and cultural programs will be held in numerous scientific institutions, archives and laboratories at various locations all over Berlin and Potsdam. Almost 21,000 visitors spent their night at the museum in 2014, and for the 15th Long Night of the Sciences next May the organizers expect even more science lovers. Exact locations and program info tbd.
Lesbian and Gay Street Festival – June 20 – 21, 2015
Berlin’s Lesbian and Gay Street Festival has enjoyed growing popularity among gays and lesbians and with the public at large. In 2015, Berlin’s Rainbow Fund will present its 23rd annual Lesbian and Gay Festival, which is the largest event of its kind in Europe. Expecting some 50,000 visitors, the festival will again take place around Nollendorf Platz in the Schöneberg district, one of Berlin’s traditional gay stomping grounds. There will be information booths, culinary treats, performances and lots of music and parties.
All Nations Festival – TBD, 2015
For the 15th time, numerous embassies and cultural institutions in Berlin will celebrate a collective Open Day at the All Nations Festival. This is the perfect opportunity to take a look behind the scenes at the institutions that form the binding glue between the German capital and the nations of the world.
Fête de la Musique – June 21, 2015
Taking place every year on the day of summer solstice, this truly European music event.celebrates the diverse forms of live music. Free concerts on over 100 (mostly open-air) stages throughout Berlin feature artists from all over Europe who play everything from klezmer and jazz, to pop and rock.
Foreign Affairs – June 25 – July 12, 2015
Three years ago, the Berliner Festspiele introduced a new festival: Foreign Affairs. International, contemporary, concentrated in time and space, yet as ephemeral as the performing arts per se. In the summer of 2015, artists from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe will again come together in Berlin to share their visions, their fears, their dreams, their personal perspectives and critical analyses of our world, our time and our societies. Frie Leysen is the creative director. Haus der Berliner Festspiele. Dates and program tbd.
Christopher Street Day – June 27, 2015
Glitzy costumes, fantastic wigs and brightly painted faces – Berlin’s Christopher Street Day. will be celebrating its 37th anniversary in 2015. This extremely popular event promises to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the German capital to celebrate equality and tolerance for gays and lesbians around the world. LGBT residents and visitors alike can again expect to see some 50+ floats and look forward to partying with half a million people in the streets between Kurfürstendamm and the Brandenburg Gate.
Jazz at Bergmannstraße – June 26 -28, 2015
Springtime in Berlin always brings an abundance of musical events to the capital. The Bergmannstraße street festival in the hip Kreuzberg district is a must attend for Jazz lovers and features live acts, entertainment programs as well as market stands with a variety of culinary delights. Exact program tbd (website in German only).
Berlin Philharmonics Open Air at the Waldbühne -June 28, 2015
An annual cultural summer highlight, the open-air performance by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at the Waldbühne amphitheater traditionally ends its season. For their final concert the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra traditionally surrounds itself with classical music stars, including conductor Simon Rattle and – as soloist in Grieg’s Piano Concerto – pianist Lang Lang.
Classic Open Air Berlin Gendarmenmarkt -July 2 – 6, 2015
Classic Open Air Berlin, celebrated each summer al fresco at Berlin’s beautiful Gendarmenmarkt square, features all-time favorites in operetta, opera, classical and contemporary music. The 2015 program ranges from French chansons, to opera to classical concerts and jazz.
17th Berlin International Beer Festival – August 7 – 9, 2015
Move over, Munich! With the Berlin International Beer Festival the German capital proves that it can hold its own in the world of beer when Karl-Marx-Allee will turn into the planet’s longest beer garden and bar. Over a stretch of more than a mile, 300 breweries from 86 countries will draft some 2,000 brands of the world’s finest beers. (Website only in German).
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