Berlin International Film Festival

This film festival is held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of the “Big Three” alongside the Venice Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival.

With around 300,000 tickets sold and 500,000 admissions each year, it has the largest public attendance of any annual film festival. Up to 400 films are shown in several sections across cinematic genres. Around twenty films compete for the festival’s top awards, called the Golden Bear and several Silver Bears. More than 4200 journalists produce media coverage in over 110 countries. At some high-profile feature film premieres held during the festival, movie stars and celebrities are present on the red carpet.

Carnival of Cultures

Held in the month of June, the colorful highlight of the festivities is the street parade, where more than 4,500 performers in authentic costumes, elaborately decorated floats, and musicians from over 70 different countries dance through the streets of Berlin. Soak up the samba rhythms, enjoy Brazilian drummers, Congolese singers, Korean culture groups, artistic larger than life puppets – and a bit of Rio de Janeiro in the streets of the German capital.

Berlin Biennale

Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art is a contemporary art exhibition, which has been held at various locations in Berlin, Germany, every two to three years since 1998. The curator or curators choose the artists who will participate. After the event became established, annual themes were introduced. The Biennale is now underwritten by the German government through the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (Federal Culture Foundation), and is the second most important contemporary arts event in the country, after documenta.

Classic Open Air

The wonderful music festival of Berlin is held yearly in start July in Gendarmenmarkt square. The festival which is played in the open air hosts players from all over the world, classic bands and choirs in various compositions: big, small, known and unique compositions for the festival’s days. The listeners can choose between music of the world, American musicals, classic music, opera etc. The concerts that are held in open air against the marvelous architecture buildings of Berlin create unforgettable culture experience. It is better to make a room reservation in advance. The festival is recommended to all music lovers.

Berlin Pride

The Berlin Pride Celebration, usually known as CSD Berlin, is a parade and festival held in the second half of July each year in Berlin to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their allies. CSD stands for Christopher Street Day. Since 1979, the event has been held each year. Berlin Pride is one of the largest gay and lesbian organized events in Germany and one of the biggest in Europe. Its aim is to demonstrate for equal rights and equal treatment for LGBT people, as well as celebrate the pride in Gay and Lesbian Culture.

Berlin Beer Festival

This festival takes place in the second half of the year at Karl-Marx-Allee, between Strausbergerplatz and Frankfurter Tor. Berlin Beer Festival has become a major tourist attraction, festival and annual tradition in Berlin. It is always held the first weekend in August. Approximately 320 brewers 86 countries is expected to present about 2.000 beer varieties on the 2.2 kilometer long street beer festival. You’ll find 22 beer regions and 20 music scenes along Karl Marx Allee this weekend.The festival takes place in the Friedrichshain district, which is a pretty quiet neighbourhood. At same time it has a lively nightlife with numerous bars and restaurants.

Musikfest Berlin

During the Musikfest, Berlin’s concert halls resound with classical music performed by renowned national and international orchestras, choirs and chamber ensembles. The festival not only attracts hundreds of musicians but also thousands of fans of classical music from all over the world.  Over the course of the 25 festival days, almost 30 events featuring over 80 works by 40 composers, 20 orchestras, instrumental and vocal ensembles and countless soloists perform at the Philharmonie, Pierre Boulez Saal, the Großer Sendesaal of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg and the Konzerthaus. Among them are national as well as international formations like the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Lucerne Festival Academy.

JazzFest Berlin

Never before has jazz been as innovative and modern. Berlin is known to be a true musical and cultural melting pot and this jazz festival brings together the different tones of world jazz, including electro, pop and classical. The X Jazz Festival is above all a festival in the heart of the city. And the venues are usually jazz clubs located close to one other who will welcome you for electrifying live sessions.

Silvester in Berlin

Silvester in Berlin means fireworks, drunk people, drinking rotkapchen on the streets, pfannkuchen, and party till the sun comes up. Never heard of Silvester? In English it’s better known as New Years Eve, but in Berlin they say goodbye to the old year by celebrating Silvester.

The world’s largest New Year celebration that begins the day before New Year’s Eve. The highlight is the big concert at the Brandenburg Gate, which is held annually, 31 December. With over a million people in the crowd, Berlin is among the best places to be this night. Famous international artists perform all evening. At midnight, the sky lit up with a fireworks display above the ordinary. Over 60,000 rockets wand up within 11 minutes. The concert concludes with one or two more artist and ends around 1 o’clock. Since it is a huge outdoor living on all of Berlin’s clubs and there are sometimes open two days consecutive for those who want to celebrate the new year properly.