This weekend, Berlin is once again offering you a plenty of cultural highlights: Listen to international orchestras at the Music Festival, immerse yourself in the glamorous world of Josephine Baker in the Winter Garden and experience Tino Sehgal's interactive art in the New Chambers of Sanssouci. And if you're looking for a more hands-on programme, you can get your hands in the soil at the AckerFest with one or two workshops for green thumbs!
Tip 1: Listen to top international orchestras at the Musikfest Berlin
The time has finally come again and the Berlin concert world is waking up from its summer break. The Musikfest Berlin kicks things off again this year. The high density of international classical music stars is an important event in the European music scene and brings the great Berlin orchestras, choirs and guest ensembles from all over the world to the city's concert halls. This year's festival programme is dedicated to the double continent of America and the musical exchange between Africa, America and Europe. On Friday you can experience the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, on Saturday Jordi Savall conducts the concert Un mar de músicas and on Sunday the Oslo Philharmonic is among the stars.
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday at various times
Where: Philharmonie Berlin, Herbert-von-Karajan Straße 1, Tiergarten
Tip 2: Celebrate vaudeville icon and freedom fighter Josephine Baker
Born in poor circumstances in early 20th-century America, thestrongest of all the youngest of the young. The entertainment multi-talent Josephine Baker quickly fought her way to the top of the international entertainment industry. She always stood up against racism and in favour of freedom - during the Second World War, she was particularly committed to the freedom of her adopted country of France. Now the Berlin Wintergarten Varieté is paying homage to the Queen of Entertainment with a show worthy of her talent: Josephine - The Queen of Entertainment. With jazz, swing, moving anecdotes and plenty of glamour, world-class artists bring the beloved queen of entertainment to life. A tribute to Josephine.
When: Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 6 pm
Where: Wintergarten Varieté, Potsdamer Straße 96, Tiergarten
Josephine - The Queen of Entertainment
Tip 3: Experience action art by Tino Seghal at the Neue Kammern Sanssouci
How can art be created as resource-efficiently as possible? This question, which combines the themes of action art, sculpture and climate protection, has long been the subject of London-based artist Tino Sehgal's work. His answer? Art that is produced without the use of material resources and yet does not lose its impact. With This Joy, the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin is showing a work by the artist in the New Chambers in Potsdam's Sanssouci Palace Park. Various pieces of music by Ludwig van Beethoven are interwoven into a new sound and spatial experience that blossoms royally in the magnificent rooms of the Prussian palace.
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5.30pm
Where: New Chambers of Sanssouci, Sanssouci Park, Potsdam
13. GERMAN RUM FESTIVAL 2024
The German Rum Festival has been delighting rum connoisseurs, beginners and aficionados from Germany and Europe for 13 years. Immerse yourself in the unique world of sugar cane and Caribbean joie de vivre!
Tip 4: Don't just think of the Baltic Sea as a holiday destination
The Baltic Sea can be reached by train from Berlin in just 2.5 hours. Its wide beaches and enchanted dunes have always been one of Berliners' favourite destinations - and played a particularly important role in the GDR. With the exhibition The Baltic Sea - holiday destination, border area, place of longing, the DDR Museum Berlin pays tribute to this unique relationship and shows that the Baltic Sea was not just an idyllic holiday paradise. In the strictly guarded border area, holidaymakers were forbidden to set foot on the beaches at night - political repression was omnipresent here too. Personal memories, photographs and historical artefacts bring you closer to the Baltic Sea from the perspective of GDR citizens in this exhibition. As a place full of history and adventure.
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 am to 9 pm
Where: DDR Museum, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 1, Mitte
The Baltic Sea - holiday destination, border region, place of longing
Tip 5: Get your wings at RED BULL DANCE YOUR STYLE
Because you'll need them if you want to keep your wings at the most popular street style dance battle competition in the world. There are hardly any limits here and certainly no rules - everyone is invited to take to the stage to dance duels. The audience alone decides who wins. The exciting thing about this performance? The dancers have no opportunity to prepare a choreography in advance. The performance music is chosen at random and only at the moment of the performance. So creativity is required when more than 1200 top dancers from 30 countries take to the stage!
When: Friday from 2 pm, Saturday from 12 pm and Sunday from 1 pm
Where: Tempodrom, Möckernstraße 60, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Tip 6: Work together on a future worth living at AckerFest
How can we shape a green future in the present? This question is probably one of the most relevant of our time. On the green grounds of the MalzFabrik this weekend, you can get to work and actively search for practical answers. Together, we will put our hands in the soil and explore the potential of a society that appreciates nature as the most important basis of life. With a variety of workshops, hands-on activities and a rousing music programme, nothing about it feels like work. So be there when Berlin gets to the bottom of a climate- and education-friendly world in a playful way.
When: Friday from 11am to 10pm
Where: Malzfabrik, Bessemerstraße 2-14, Schöneberg
Tip 7: Look forward to Queens & Flowers at the drag summer festival
Queens and Flowers - this comparison is obvious. Because if the drag stars of Berlin's LGBTQIA* scene have anything in common with a plant species, it's probably the most magnificent flowers. Just as diverse, beautiful and glamorous. On Saturday, you can experience the Queens & Flowers together in one place, because the Drag Summer Festival in the Botanical Garden is coming up. The open-air area around the greenhouses will offer you a dazzling programme. Family activities in the afternoon, DJ sets in the middle of the garden, guided tours of the greenhouses and plenty of socio-political statements. Look forward to exotic flowers and blooming shows!
When: Saturday from 3 to 10 pm
Where: Botanischer Garten Berlin / Eingang Königin-Luise-Platz, Königin-Luise-Straße 6-8, Steglitz
Tip 8: Take your children on an artistic journey through time
The Deutsches Historisches Museum has one or two highlights - and now also one thathas been specially developed for little art fans. The children's exhibition Rein ins Gemälde! A journey through time for children brings one of the four Augsburg Monthly Paintings from the 16th century to life in a whole new way. Kids can slip directly into the painting in multisensory installations. History can thus be experienced in an imaginative way. There is also a colourful hands-on programme throughout the museum, where adults can also get creative. The perfect programme for everyone!
When: Friday und Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Deutsches Historisches Museum, Unter den Linden 2, Mitte
Tip 9: Keep your finger on the pulse of pop culture at the Kulturbrauerei
The Pop-Kultur Festival is finally taking place again this weekend as a live event on the grounds of the Kulturbrauerei. This is where up-and-coming talent, international musicians and established artists come together and enter into a dialogue with the audience - because that's exactly what pop culture is. Talks, readings and films are also part of the programme, because here the modern understanding of art is renegotiated in an interdisciplinary way. Look forward to inclusive projects and musical performances that are guaranteed to broaden your pop culture horizons!
When: Friday from 5pm
Where: Kulturbrauerei, Schönhauer Allee 36, Prenzlauer Berg
Tip 10: Cheer on the craziest water sports enthusiasts in Berlin
Water jumpers:Inside in the wildest costumes, BMX jumps across the Müggelsee and an arse bomb contest - there is probably no other water sports event crazier than the Müggelmortale. This weekend, Seebad Friedrichshagen will be the location for a very special kind of summer fun. But even if things are a lot more relaxed here than at other sporting events, the jury will be watching very closely: Even at a bombing contest only one person can win! Make yourself comfortable in the spectator stands with a cool drink and enjoy this water competition of a different kind from a dry seat.
When: Sunday from 11am to 5pm
Where: Friedrichshagen lido, Müggelseedamm 216, Köpenick
Tip 11: Marvel at arts and crafts from the Middle Ages to the present day
Art and history come together in the Museum of Decorative Arts like in no other museum. Built between 1978 and 1985, the museum building houses the most important collection of European arts and crafts from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau periods to the present day. Artistic objects such as furniture, religious objects, clothing and jewellery offer you an impressive insight into the realities of life and artistic tastes of times gone by. One of the highlights of the museum is the tour through 150 years of fashion history, where you can marvel at around 130 costumes, accessories and other designs.
When: Friday from 10am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 6pm
Where: Kunstgewerbemuseum, Matthäikirchplatz, Tiergarten
