Open-air cultural programme attracts guests to Berlin in the summer

Berlin, 29 June 2023 Concerts, theatre, performances, festivals or readings: Berlin transforms into a huge open-air stage in summer. Once again this year, guests can discover Berlin's cultural landscape at the Kultursommerfestival from 24 June to 3 September - outdoors, free of charge and always at a different location. On twelve summer evenings, the international cultural festival “Durchlüften” also offers musical experiences in the Schlüterhof of the Humboldt Forum. The “Pride Month Berlin” is taking place for the second time: The queer community will be the focus of the capital for four weeks from 28 June onwards. Highlights are the lesbian-gay city festival and Christopher Street Day. And what if it does rain? Even then, there's no chance of getting bored even on grey summer days thanks to the various indoor activities. This is made sure by new and reopened Berlin museums such as the Deutschlandmuseum, the DeJa Vu Museum and the Medical History Museum of the Charité, among others.

A summer with 100 events

Two and a half months of pure culture: That's the promise of the Kultursommerfestival. Until the beginning of September, backyards, streets, parks, and green spaces throughout the city will be transformed into venues for concerts, theatre, dance, readings, talks and setups. These include, for example, the open-air concert “Staatsoper für alle” on 9 July on Bebelplatz. In the 17 edition, the Staatskapelle Berlin performs Bruckner's Symphony No. 7. Folk theatre for everyone is on offer at the open day on 22 July at the Globe Berlin. And on the 10. Langen Nacht der Astronomie, guests can be off on a voyage of discovery through space on 12 August. One can observe the sky particularly well from the Tempelhofer Feld. These are just three of the 100 events that the free of cost Kultursommerfestival has to offer this summer in Berlin.

Intercultural and queer summer programme

Berlin has another open-air festival: From 13 July to 5 August, the international cultural festival “Durchlüften” will take place in the Schlüterhof of the Humboldt Forum. Musicians from Berlin and also international musicians perform here on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. The transcultural and cross-genre programme takes up musical references from Accra to Bogotá, from Belgrade to Bangkok and from Harare to Rio de Janeiro. Admission is free.

The “Pride Month Berlin” from 28 June to 23 July shows how diverse, colourful and tolerant the capital is. Visitors can expect events, parties, discussions and film screenings on queer topics for four weeks. One of the highlights of Pride Week is the lesbian-gay city festival on the 15 and 16 July around Nollendorfplatz. It has been an institution in Berlin since 1993 and is now the largest homosexual street festival in Europe, which has been campaigning for equal coexistence for 30 years. And it kicks off another legendary LGBTQ+ event: the Christopher Street Day. On 22 July, almost one million people are expected to show their support for the rights of the queer community in a demonstration march. The CSD auf der Spree, a special show of sympathy, is also on the same day. With 20 ships, the Berlin Canal Pride celebrates its 17th anniversary this year.

Summer lights in the Berlin sky

Berlin has gained one more art installation. In the outdoor area of “Dark Matter”, visitors can literally immerse themselves in the installation “Tensor” by German light artist Christopher Bauder, until 2 September from sunset onwards. The three-dimensional cloud of 400 lights floats above the audience, changing shape, colour and frequency at every moment. It is accompanied by a powerful soundscape by British musician and composer Akiko Haruna.

Visitors to Berlin can get closer to the Berlin sky from 15 July, when THF Tower opens at the former Tempelhof Airport. The wood-panelled terrace on the sixth level at the western head-end of the building offers a magnificent view over the city. And not just that: The THF Tower is also an innovative exhibition and event venue. The opening starts with the picture exhibition “Horizons. Flughafen Tempelhof 1990-2022”, which shows the transformation of the airport.

Cultural indoor summer programme

And if the weather doesn't cooperate: Off to the museum! Berlin has two new ones to offer. The Deutschlandmuseum has been on Leipziger Platz since 17 June. Visitors can experience 2,000 years of German history during a one-hour tour on 1,400 square metres. On a ramble through twelve epochs, they walk through the Germanic jungle, experience quixotic shadow plays behind leaded glass windows in a medieval castle or stand a few steps away in an economic miracle flat of the 1950s and listen to pop music.

The new DeJa Vu Museum at Alexanderplatz is a magical world of experience. The interactive museum for optical illusion and modern art is unique in Germany. The digital, physical, optical and interactive exhibits blur the boundaries between reality and fantasy.

The Berlin Medical History Museum of the Charité reopened on 16 June after three years of modernisation and expansion. The special exhibition “Das Gehirn in Wissenschaft und Kunst” provides insights into the exhibits and current brain research.

Symbolism, Art Nouveau, and Impressionism: The exhibition “Secessionen – Klimt, Stuck, Liebermann” in the Alte Nationalgalerie is about the dawn of the modern era and the origins of artistic freedom and individuality. Until 22 October, art lovers can rediscover around 200 paintings, sculptures and graphic works by 80 artists and also female artists, including works by Franz Stuck, Max Liebermann, Lovis Corinth, Dora Hitz, Käthe Kollwitz, Edvard Munch or Auguste Rodin - and more Gustav Klimt than ever before in Berlin.

A visit to the Pergamonmuseum on the Museum Island should also be at the top of the cultural indoor programme: It will close on 23 October for renovation for several years. Until it reopens in parts in 2027, it is worth visiting the temporary exhibition “Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama”. The exhibition project “PERGAMON. Meisterwerke der antiken Metropole und 360°-Panorama von Yadegar Asisi” presents highlights from the holdings of the Collection of Classical Antiquities and a completely revised panorama by the German artist.