<a href="${link:{uuid:{dbebd558-82f6-43c5-8ba1-e12fc1c10b63},repository:{artists},path:{/bfs-mediathek/M/angela-merkel}}}">Angela Merkel</a>&nbsp;in conversation with <a href="${link:{uuid:{d68c7e9b-05aa-428b-aeb7-563012c11ddc},repository:{artists},path:{/bfs-mediathek/C/saba-nur-cheema}}}">Saba-Nur Cheema</a> and <a href="${link:{uuid:{6750d4bb-3e82-4177-bcf9-b29e55fd9a39},repository:{artists},path:{/bfs-mediathek/M/meron-mendel}}}">Meron Mendel</a>

The curators of Reflexes &amp; Reflections ask former Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel: how has Germany and Europe’s role in the world changed in the last decades? How can we navigate our way in a multipolar world and where can we find stability, courage and clarity? In addition to political analysis there will also be an exchange of biographical anecdotes and personal experiences.

Reflexe & Reflexionen

Reflexes &amp; Reflections

Reflexe & Reflexionen 2026

In German with simultaneous translation into English

Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Große Bühne

Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Main&nbsp;Stage

Bundeskanzlerin a. D. Angela Merkel im Gespräch mit Saba-Nur Cheema und Meron Mendel

Former Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel in Conversation with Saba-Nur Cheema and Meron Mendel

Angela Merkel im Gespräch mit Saba-Nur Cheema und Meron Mendel

74th Berlin International Film Festival

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As part of “Reflexes and Reflections”, the Berliner Festspiele organise artistic-discursive theme days at irregular intervals, which deal with social problems and controversial topics.

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Today’s Events

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Key Visual Reflexe & Reflexionen 2026

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4-Day Focus curated by Saba-Nur Cheema and Meron Mendel

The Great Disorder

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In “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: BELANCIEGE”, Hito Steyerl, Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze and Miloš Trakilović investigate how data analysis practices within the fashion industry are used in targeted advertising on social media and what dangers thus arise for liberal democracies.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: BELANCIEGE

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In “Freedom Sonata”, dance artist Emanuel Gat, together with a group of dancers of diverse heritage and styles, re-examines the form of the sonata. He creates complex scores, which the dancers make their own live on stage.

Freedom Sonata

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Max Uthoff, political cabaret artist and host of the ZDF programme “Die Anstalt”, teams up with Enissa Amani, comedienne and activist. Together, they discuss the snap election results and explore the question: what’s left to laugh about?

German Federal Election 2025. What’s Left to Laugh About?

Artistic Programme

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The Musikfest Berlin brings together leading international orchestras, renowned conductors and outstanding soloists in a diverse concert programme – ranging from opera productions to contemporary works. Advance tickets are available.

Musikfest Berlin

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Marina Abramović presents Balkan Erotic Epic. The Exhibition at Gropius Bau, marking her first major solo show in Berlin since the 1990s. The show traces her ongoing engagement with ritual, eroticism, death and the body as a site of political resistance.

Marina Abramović: Balkan Erotic Epic. The Exhibition

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For more than five decades, Gabriele St&ouml;tzer has been grappling with questions of justice, gender and self-determination. Opening at Gropius Bau in June 2026,&nbsp;Dabei sein und nicht schweigen&nbsp;(Showing up and Not Remaining Silent)&nbsp;is the artist’s largest institutional solo exhibition to date.

Gabriele St&ouml;tzer: Dabei sein und nicht schweigen

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The fourth edition of the Performing Arts Season focuses on myths and rituals – with works by international artists such as Marina Abramović, Marie Chouinard and Dumb Type. Advance tickets are available.

Performing Arts Season

More Berliner Festspiele

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To mark the 75th anniversary of the Berliner Festspiele, the artist Akira Takayama invites the public to take guided tours on the Berlin Ringbahn that will enable them to encounter ghosts of alternative futures.

What If Berlin

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Reflexes &amp; Reflections 2026

Advance ticket sales for this year’s edition of Reflexe &amp; Reflexionen begin on 10&nbsp;June at 14:00.

Advance Ticket Sales

Reflexes &amp; Reflections 2026 will take place from 27&nbsp;August to 30&nbsp;August.The Berliner Festspiele are a cultural institution closely connected with the changing history of Berlin and the partition of Europe. But what marks out the present state of the world? What are the political, social and cultural consequences derived from a global order that is increasingly shaped by wars, imperial power grabs and multipolar lines of conflict? The four-day focus Reflexes &amp; Reflections Die gro&szlig;e Unordnung (The Great Disorder) will examine the effects of these developments on liberal democracies and international co-operation. A special highlight is the conversation with former Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel on the evening of 29&nbsp;August&nbsp;2026. She will discuss the challenges of the current geopolitical shifts for open societies together with the curators of Reflexes and Reflections, Saba-Nur Cheema and Meron Mendel. Prominent speakers from the worlds of politics, academia and the arts – including Adam Tooze, Meera Nanda and Steffen Mau – will shed light on the future of liberal institutions and alliances, the continuity of colonial violence, lines of conflict within Germany’s post-migrant society as well as artistic and curatorial reactions to a world in disorder.&nbsp;

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The “Reflexes &amp; Reflections” theme days are a programme series organised by Berliner Festspiele. In times of increasing polarisation of social debates, it aims to create open and controversial spaces for discussion. “Reflexes &amp; Reflections” brings together artistic and discursive positions to negotiate social problems and contentious issues.

About Reflexes &amp; Reflections

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Upcoming Events

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Impressionen Reflexe & Reflexionen 2025

Impressions 2025

Impressions 2025

Certainly since the re-election of Donald Trump it has become clear that a violent, multipolar world order is evolving. Autocratic tendencies that are now also manifesting themselves in former liberal democracies are converging with returning fantasies of great imperial power. Meanwhile East-West and North-South axes are gradually becoming less significant in charting political relations in a radically changing world.As a result, the legacy of liberal institutions and international co-operation is being questioned. A postcolonial perspective, fed by criticism of Western policy, is also insufficient to describe current geopolitical conflicts. At the same time, major global conflicts impact Germany’s postmigrant society and threaten social harmony.The third edition of Reflexes &amp; Reflections, again curated by the political scientist <a href="${link:{uuid:{d68c7e9b-05aa-428b-aeb7-563012c11ddc},repository:{artists},path:{/bfs-mediathek/C/saba-nur-cheema}}}">Saba-Nur Cheema</a> and the historian <a href="${link:{uuid:{6750d4bb-3e82-4177-bcf9-b29e55fd9a39},repository:{artists},path:{/bfs-mediathek/M/meron-mendel}}}">Meron Mendel</a>, also marks the 75th&nbsp;anniversary of the Berliner Festspiele. As a cultural institution that is linked to Berlin’s eventful history, in their anniversary year the Berliner Festspiele will examine the consequences of the current geopolitical upheaval for open societies.Where should socially and culturally engaged individuals and institutions now turn? Which new co-ordinates offer a degree of orientation? In considering these problems, among the prominent speakers from the fields of politics, academia and culture, the voices of Berlin schoolchildren will also be heard for the first time.

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The panels and discussions will afterwards be published in the media library and, in collaboration with the Festival Internacional Teatro a Mil (Santiago de Chile), they also will be made available on their website with Spanish subtitles.&nbsp;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 also available in the Media Library.

Reflexes &amp; Reflections in the Media Library

Public disputes today are louder, more intense and more hostile than ever. Right-wing and authoritarian parties are gaining increasing support. Many people feel they are not being heard. Others complain of being unable to express their opinions. And in many parts of society, trust in the mediating power of state institutions and established media is declining.n view of this imbalance, Berliner Festspiele assessed the current state of affairs: How is our culture of debate failing? What role do social media, inequality and ideological conflicts play in this? And how can a lively praxis of public debate be encouraged? These questions were considered in the second edition of “Reflexes &amp; Reflections” in March 2025, which was once again curated by political scholar Saba-Nur Cheema and historian Meron Mendel. This time, the focus was on the future of debate culture.On three packed days devoted to this theme, prominent speakers discussed in a series of panel discussions, lectures and workshops the possibilities of liberating public discourse from its enduring but unproductive state of arousal. Participants included Jeffrey Goldberg, Alice Hasters, Yasmine M’Barek, Hasnain Kazim, Gilda Sahebi, Mithu Sanyal, Stefan Niggemeier and Deniz Y&uuml;cel.Artistic perspectives on processes of social negotiation were offered by the dance piece <a href="${link:{uuid:{ef75b370-61ac-4141-a551-683781849dc2},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/reflexe-und-reflexionen/programm/2025/kalender/freedom-sonata}}}">“Freedom Sonata”</a> by Emanuel Gat and the video installation <a href="${link:{uuid:{65c2a467-f3cc-42dd-b854-94f63ee521c5},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/reflexe-und-reflexionen/programm/2025/kalender/mission-accomplished-belanciege}}}">“MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: BELANCIEGE”</a> by Hito Steyerl, Giorgi Gago Gagoshidze and Miloš Trakilović. Alongside all the serious questions that were discussed as part of “Reflexes &amp; Reflections”, there was also room for a sense of humour: shortly after the 2025 German Federal election, comedian <a href="${link:{uuid:{c46e2e10-63d3-4b2b-aad5-7080f06aeb99},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/reflexe-und-reflexionen/programm/2025/kalender/bundestagswahl-2025-was-gibts-noch-zu-lachen}}}">Max Uthoff</a> and comedienne and activist <a href="${link:{uuid:{c46e2e10-63d3-4b2b-aad5-7080f06aeb99},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/reflexe-und-reflexionen/programm/2025/kalender/bundestagswahl-2025-was-gibts-noch-zu-lachen}}}">Enissa Amani</a> commented on the election results. They asked themselves: what’s left to laugh about?

Reflexes &amp; Reflections 2025

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As part of ‘Reflexes and Reflections’, the Berliner Festspiele organise artistic-discursive theme days at irregular intervals, which deal with social problems and controversial topics.

Festivals & Programme Series

Upcoming

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

Reflexes &amp; Reflections 2026 takes place from 27 to 30 August 2026.

The programme of Reflexes &amp; Reflections 2026.

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Two productions at Haus der Berliner Festspiele

Tanz im August

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In 2026 the Berliner Festspiele celebrate their 75th anniversary. A selection of events programmed throughout the entire year engage take the anniversary as their theme or mark the occasion with works at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, the Gropius Bau, the Philharmonie, on Berlin’s Ringbahn and at other locations in the city. Outstanding international that liberal societies and their cultural institutions face in a new, multipolar world order. artists such as Marina Abramović, Gabriele St&ouml;tzer and Akira Takayama will set the agenda both thematically and aesthetically. Entitled “Die gro&szlig;e Unordnung” (The Great Disorder), the four-day focus Reflexes &amp; Reflections will also enquire about the challenges.

75 Years of the Berliner Festspiele

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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

Key Visual Musikfest Berlin 2026

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Major Orchestras and Vocal Ensembles as Guests in Berlin

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More than 60 productions from across Germany applied to take part in this year’s Tanztreffen der Jugend. After the expert jury had the opportunity to view the shortlisted works live, the jurors selected 10&nbsp;productions for the final programme. The programme schedule has been published, advance ticket sales are open.

Tanztreffen der Jugend

In August 2026, the festival Tanz im August will return to the Haus der Berliner Festspiele with two productions. Tickets for Sounding Light and Après moi, le déluge are available.&nbsp;

Tanz im August

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Under the motto “You are born with your face turned everywhere”, the 26th International Literature Festival Berlin (ILB) will bring together over 100&nbsp;authors from more than 40&nbsp;countries between 3&nbsp;and 12&nbsp;September at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

International Literature Festival Berlin&nbsp;

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The exploration of myths and rituals shapes the fourth edition of the Performing Arts Season with works by Marina Abramović, Mario Banushi, Marie Chouinard, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker / Rosas, Ictus, Bl!ndman, Dumb Type, Damien Jalet / Kohei Nawa and Gisèle Vienne. The programme is published and ticket sales are on.

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An Initiative of the Berliner Festspiele 2026/27As part of their anniversary season, the Berliner Festspiele in partnership with the Japanese-German Center Berlin dedicate a special focus to performative and musical arts from Japan, featuring works by the Kanze Noh Theater, Damien Jalet / Kohei Nawa, Akira Takayama, Dumb Type and the Otomo Yoshihide New Jazz Quintet.

Focus Japan

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29 October to 1 November 2026In 2026, the line-up welcomes audiences to make new discoveries and features outstanding representatives from a variety of scenes, spanning a highly diverse cultural and musical landscape. At the same time, it celebrates two pioneering voices – Anthony Braxton and Alexander von Schlippenbach – who have shaped the global scene for decades. The programme will be published on 10&nbsp;September, advance ticket sales start on 17&nbsp;September.