Through his publications in »Lettre International« and his books, Liao Yiwu has shown us, like no other author, what every day life in China means. Shortly he was exiled, he was honoured with the Geschwister-Scholl-Preis and was lauded by Herta M&uuml;ller, received the Ryszard-Kapuściński-Preis, and finally, also the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. The new Berlin resident presents interviews in which slackers, hashish researcher, murders, drunkards and prostitutes get a chance to speak.

Berliner Festspiele

Berliner Festspiele 2013

Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Kassenhalle

Liao Yiwu: Die Dongdong-Tänzerin und der Sichuan-Koch

Liao Yiwu: The Dong-Dong Dancer and the Cook from Sechuan

Festivals & Programme Series

The Berliner Festspiele organise a range of festivals and art exhibitions, concerts, dance and theatre performances, readings, lectures, debates and much more throughout the year. These events are presented at a range of locations across Berlin but are concentrated primarily at their own two venues: the Gropius Bau and the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

Berliner Festspiele&rsquo;s own events and guest events.

The events of the individual festivals and programme series can be found in the archive section of each festival.

Through his publications in &raquo;Lettre International&laquo; and his books, Liao Yiwu has shown us, like no other author, what every day life in China means. Shortly he was exiled, he was honoured with the Geschwister-Scholl-Preis and was lauded by Herta M&uuml;ller, received the Ryszard-Kapuściński-Preis, and finally, also the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. The new Berlin resident presents interviews in which slackers, hashish researcher, murders, drunkards and prostitutes get a chance to speak.

Programm 2013

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Programme 2013

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Today’s Events

Exhibitions & Projects

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Reflexe und Reflexionen

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The international and interdisciplinary festival produced by the Berliner Festspiele

Performing Exiles

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37th&nbsp;International Festival Berlin

Tanz im August

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The international literature festival berlin, or ilb for short, is considered one of the most important literary festivals in the world.

25th international literature festival berlin

Leichte Sprache

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You can listen to some of our events this year digitally in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library after the live concerts.&nbsp;In addition, On Demand offers from past years are available.

Musikfest Berlin in the Media Library

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The international Jazzfest Research Lab&nbsp;welcomes academics and students to take a critical look at the festival’s archive, its programmes, creators, musicians and – last but not least – its myths. In two seminars during the summer semester of 2024, students from the Berlin University of the Arts and the University of Hildesheim have explored the festival’s history from various perspectives. In this film, the participants give a first look at how they dealt with their research subject.

Introducing: Jazzfest Research Lab

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To mark its 60th anniversary, Jazzfest Berlin is celebrating the cultural diversity of the neighbouring district of Moabit in collaboration with around 35 official partners and initiatives and with over 350 participants of all ages.&nbsp;In June 2024, interviews were conducted with 20 partners who presented their perspectives, wishes and ideas for the Jazzfest Community Lab Moabit. You can get a first impression with this film.

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Curated by&nbsp;Meron Mendel and Saba-Nur Cheema&nbsp;

From 13 to 16 June 2024, the interdisciplinary themed days “Reflexes &amp; Reflections” on the Israel-Palestine conflict and its consequences for society in Germany took place at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. You can now find video and audio recordings of the discourse events in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library!

Reflexes &amp; Reflections. 7 October, the war in Gaza and the debate in Germany

In the Media Library

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Key Visual Musikfest Berlin 2025

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Major Orchestras and Vocal Ensembles as Guests in Berlin

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The 10 Remarkable Productions 2024

On 26 January, the Theatertreffen’s jury of critics announced their selection of 10 remarkable productions for the 2024 Theatertreffen at a press conference. Our congratulations go to the nominated production teams and all participants! The programme will be published on 5 April.

Theatertreffen 2024

“Radical Playgrounds”, an art parcours at the Gropius Bau, is spending eleven weeks exploring the differences between the concepts of play as competition and free play. Visitors are invited to walk and climb on the various installations and sculptures, to activate them and to shape the project collectively.

Summer School 2025

As part of Performing Exiles there will be a Summer School from 16 to 28&nbsp;June 2025. This will offer workshops, seminars and mentoring. The participants will see the performances and guest productions in the festival programme and visit artistic initiatives and cultural institutions in Berlin that operate across a wide range of disciplines and contexts. A public presentation of the participants’ current work and research at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele will complete the programme.

Open Call

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The massacre, hostage-taking and rocket attacks by Hamas have shaken us deeply. The grue-some attack on Israel on 7&nbsp;October left us stunned and initially lost for words.

The Berliner Festspiele on Current Events in Israel, Gaza and Germany

With this letter of intent, we, the signing cultural organizations, express our intention to welcome, host and stage Ukrainian theatre artists in our venues, to make Ukrainian dramatic work visible to the European community.

Support of the Ukrainian Cultural Scene

More Berliner Festspiele

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Musikfest Berlin 2025 brings together renowned international orchestras and vocal ensembles from the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Italy and the great symphony orchestras of the city of Berlin at Berliner Philharmonie. The full programme is online and tickets are available now.

Musikfest Berlin

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In August 2025, the festival Tanz im August will be a guest at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele with three productions. All productions are already on pre-sale.

Tanz im August

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The international literature festival berlin, or ilb for short, is considered one of the most important literary festivals in the world. The programme for the 25th&nbsp;ilb will take place from 11 to 20&nbsp;September 2025. The Young Programme will run from 15 to 24&nbsp;September 2025. The main venue is the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, with additional locations for the Young Programme including Theater an der Parkaue and the Gelbe Villa.

25th international literature festival berlin

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The works presented in the Performing Arts Season 2025/26 go beyond simple portrayals of identity, embracing its fragility and fluid, multifaceted and often contradictory nature. Through an exploration of connections and differences, they underscore not what unites us, both individually and collectively. The programme schedule will be published on 2 July 2025; advance ticket sales start at 14:00.

Performing Arts Season

Upcoming

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53 ensembles from 13 federal states have submitted their works for the 12th Tanztreffen der Jugend.&nbsp;The selection has been made.

Tanztreffen der Jugend

The works presented in the Performing Arts Season 2025/26 go beyond simple portrayals of identity, embracing its precarity and fluid, multifaceted and often contradictory nature. Through an exploration of connections and differences, they underscore not what divides us, but what unites us, both individually and collectively.&nbsp;The programme schedule will be published on 2 July 2025; advance ticket sales start at 14:00.

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<h3>Theatertreffen</h3><h4>2 to 20 May 2024</h4>The 10&nbsp;remarkable productions, selected by a jury of critics, were announced in a press conference on 26&nbsp;January 2024, 11:00. The programme will be published on 5&nbsp;April, advance ticket sales will start on 19&nbsp;April at 14:00

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The Berlinale as a guest at Haus der Berliner Festspiele

75th Berlin International Film Festival

Key Visual Neu

Marking twenty years since artist, writer and performer Vaginal Davis made Berlin her home, Gropius Bau presents the first comprehensive solo exhibition of her work in Germany. In her expansive oeuvre, punk meets glamour, queer activism meets Black counter-culture and resistance meets desire. Fabelhaftes Produkt offers an overview of Davis’ practice and artistic collaborations.

Vaginal Davis:&nbsp;Fabelhaftes Produkt

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Since the 1950s, Yoko Ono has been ahead of her time, leaving her mark on visual arts, music and activism. To honour her groundbreaking work, Gropius Bau presents the comprehensive solo exhibition&nbsp;YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND. Spanning the first floor and the atrium of Gropius Bau, the show brings together over 200 works from seven decades, revealing her radical approach to language, art and participation that continues to speak to the present moment.

YOKO ONO:&nbsp;MUSIC OF THE MIND

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A&nbsp;Play Space for Kids

Playing, laughing, making noise, letting off steam, doing nothing – all in an exhibition venue! With BAUBAU, the artist Kerstin Br&auml;tsch designed an&nbsp;admission-free play space for kids, where more is allowed than forbidden. On Gropius Bau’s ground floor, colourful wallpapers, structures, objects and open-ended material called “loose parts” configure flexible spaces that are shaped by children’s activities.

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A Short History from 1900 to the Present

What has been the role of play in public space, both historically and in the present? Complementing BAUBAU, our free play space for kids, Gabriela Burkhalter’s&nbsp;Playing in the City&nbsp;presentation traces the history of playgrounds since their emergence in 1900 to today. The free presentation is open to all and can be seen in two rooms next to the play space’s entrance.

Playing in the City

Currently at the Gropius Bau

Key Visual Performing Exiles 2025

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Theatre, Performances, Stage Marathon, Summer School, Discourse &amp; Party

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<h3>Radical Playgrounds: From Competition to Collaboration</h3><h4>27 April to 14 July 2024</h4>Berlin is known for its numerous “Spielpl&auml;tze” for kids, but the project “Radical Playgrounds” is a place where play gets serious.&nbsp;It arrives at Gropius Hain for eleven weeks like an itinerant, temporary funfair: both melancholic and light-hearted, sad and joyful, funny and serious.&nbsp;

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We have been following EMAS guidelines for sustainable environmental performance since 2013. Find out more about our goals and the measures that we have already taken on the website of our umbrella organisation.

Sustainable Environmental Performance

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Active since 2018, the national network DIE VIELEN formulates clear positions against enmity, right-wing extremism and attacks against artistic freedom. With the campaign “SHIELD &amp; SHINE”, the alliance is calling out to take an even stronger stance in support of a plural, democratic orientation of the world.

SHIELD &amp; SHINE – We Are Many

<h3>Sustainable Environmental Performance</h3>We have been following EMAS guidelines for sustainable environmental performance since 2013. Find out more about our goals and the measures that we have already taken on the website of our umbrella organisation.

<h3>Musikfest Berlin</h3><h4>24 August to 18 September 2024</h4>In 2024, the Musikfest Berlin will once again open the concert season in late summer with top-class international orchestras, celebrated conductors and remarkable soloists. The full programme is online. Advance ticket sales has started.

<h3>Performing Arts Season</h3><h4>9 October 2024 to 25 January 2025</h4>The second season, presented between October 2024 and January 2025, will concentrate on memory and heritage in contemporary performing arts, with a focus on New York’s dance and performance scene.

All year round, Berliner Festspiele host a multitude of festivals, exhibitions and individual events in two houses – the Haus der Berliner Festspiele at Schaperstra&szlig;e and the Gropius Bau near Potsdamer Platz – and other venues in the city.

The Berliner Festspiele

Three productions at Haus der Berliner Festspiele

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The video documentary about the large-scale jazz festival Community Lab Moabit accompanies some of the protagonists through the Moabit neighbourhood from 28&nbsp;October to 3&nbsp;November 2024 and makes the cultural diversity of the numerous projects and initiatives that have appeared as part of the project audible.

Exploring: Jazzfest Community Lab Moabit 2024

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In addition to the recording of the opening ceremony, the concerts from the Treffen junge Musikszene are available in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library until November 2025. The 2024 selection is very diverse and energetic: urban rock, crossover, but also earthy rock and new metal are represented, as well as catchy pop songs, intimate ballads and psychedelic folk songs.

Treffen junge Musikszene

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In addition to the recording of the opening ceremony, the readings and talks from&nbsp;Treffen junger Autor*innen are available in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library until November 2025. The young authors deal with political issues, but also express their social anger. There are everyday observations that become a razor-sharp snapshot of the world, as well as many big, sad and heavy themes.

Treffen junger Autor*innen

Texts and videos on artists and events of the Performing Arts Season, for example the recording of the lecture by choreographer and dancer Lucinda Childs, can be found in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library.

Performing Arts Season 2024/25

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Find out more about some of MaerzMusik’s 2025 artists, including Joan La Barbara, Laura Bowler and Pamela Z: talks, interviews and a portrait have been published in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library.

MaerzMusik 2025

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Experience the 2025 Theatertreffen at home: the “Starke St&uuml;cke” of 3sat, discussions of the „Forum Theatertreffen 1965–2025” and more will be available in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library shortly after the respective event.

Theatertreffen 2025

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On the future of debate culture: The videos of the second edition of “Reflexes &amp; Reflections with lectures, discussions and a late-night programme are now available in the Media Library.

Reflexes &amp; Reflections 2025

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In addition to the recording of the opening ceremony, the productions from the Theatertreffen der Jugend are available in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library until June 2026. The dominant theme is fear: fear of the system in which we live, of the events and catastrophes that come thick and fast, fear of war, poverty and failure, fear of manipulation and being overwhelmed by social media The topic of equal opportunities also plays an important role.

Theatertreffen der Jugend 2025

Performing Exiles is an international and interdisciplinary festival produced by the Berliner Festspiele, that seeks to make diasporic lives in the city of Berlin visible and explore the contemporary meaning of exile. The second edition of the festival will present both works by internationally acclaimed artists and those of artists who are still at the beginning of their careers. It will focus particularly on the artistic positions of persons who identify as diasporic and who have chosen to base their lives in Berlin. Performing Exiles will take place from 19 to 28&nbsp;June 2025 at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, the HAU – Hebbel am Ufer and Ballhaus Ost.

13 to 23 February 2025

Once more, like every year, the Berlinale will be a guest at Haus der Berliner Festspiele with a diverse film programme. On this occasion the house will be transformed into a high tech cinema.&nbsp;The spectrum of films at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele ranges from premieres and reruns of the&nbsp;Competition, Berlinale Special&nbsp;and&nbsp;Berlinale Special Gala&nbsp;to the&nbsp;Panorama&nbsp;section.

On 22 January, the Theatertreffen’s jury of critics announced their selection of 10 most remarkable productions for the 2025 Theatertreffen at a press conference. Our congratulations go to the nominated production teams and all participants!