International Street Theater Festival
The Berlin Cultural Summer features a unique international street theater festival with a program of theater, circus, comedy, clowns, performers, magicians, dance, and music. There’s also a beer garden, food trucks, urban gardening, Upcycling City, and cleanup events.
Image gallery
Gruppenbild 2018 Festival
Don’t miss Berlin’s wildest show, where clowns juggle in the beer garden, magicians steal your snacks, and performers rock the food trucks. The Berlin Cultural Summer: More than a festival—an urban spectacle you have to see to believe!
EXCITING, WHIMSICAL, AND COMEDIC THEATER YOU CAN TOUCH
ALL UNDER THE OPEN SKY FOR ALL AGES
The non-profit association Berlin lacht!, dedicated to promoting street art and culture, began in 2004 to build an international festival and artist network to bring street culture to Berlin.
Through our work, we bring this art form—which has received little attention in Germany so far—to life in sociocultural projects, theater productions, European youth exchanges, and workshops. With our annual Berlin lacht! festival, we are an integral part of Berlin’s cultural scene and a network for international artist exchange.
Why is street theater so important and special?
Street theater in all its forms is spontaneous, avant-garde, and engages the audience on an equal footing.
Actors, performers, clowns, magicians, fire artists, musicians, puppeteers, and many other artists captivate their audiences with vivid stories, sometimes with or without words. To this end, we create an inviting and harmonious *community space* right in the heart of the city. Hectic, concrete-gray spaces are transformed into a cheerful theatrical landscape where laughter, wonder, participation, and letting your mind wander are possible.
It brings joy and raises people’s awareness of art and culture without making any elitist or intellectual claims. Art and theater in public spaces add tremendous value to the sense of life and belonging in a city.
“Berlin lacht!” brings culture to the people in a completely non-elitist way and ensures that even those who are not usually interested in theater occasionally get a glimpse of other possibilities. And so they don’t lose their sense of wonder.” (Friedhelm Teicke, Theater Editor at ZITTY)
Without city funding, but solely through passion, a willingness to take risks, and collaborations, we have been able to continue holding our events to this day. Our entire operation is funded exclusively through booth rentals.
- Washingtonplatz (Berlin Central Station)
- "Berlin Laughs! Kulturbahnhof"
- July 24–August 23, 2026 → 31 days
- Free admission!
