Sustainable Listening #4 – How the Future of Food can Save the Planet

Sustainable Listening #4 – How the Future of Food can Save the Planet

Our next chapter of the event series Sustainable Listening together with Staatsoper Berlin combined culinary innovation and climate responsibility. Themed around the food system and the Planetary Health Diet, this unique gathering blended classical and electronic music, creating a sensory journey into the realms of food and sustainability.

Despite inflation hitting the gastronomy scene, Berlin continues to offer an impressive range of culinary delights from around the world and for different pockets. The city’s commitment to vegan and vegetarian cuisine is evident, although the numbers show there’s still progress to be made. With only 5% of restaurants being exclusively plant-based, and 20% offering vegetarian or vegan menus, Berlin’s food landscape reflects a growing, shift towards sustainable eating.

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Pansy Presents Halloween 2023 at SO36

Pansy Presents Halloween 2023 at SO36

After doing her thing in the far West of Berlin for the past year, PANSY is back at it again in Kreuzberg at the iconic SO36 – a club with such a rich history reaching all the way back into the days of David Bowie and Iggy Pop. This month she is doing not one but two events there – the first one being her big Halloween spectacle that happened earlier this week and brought back some of her favorite drag performers and friends to the stage for some bloody fun.

PANSY’s Halloween events are truly legendary. Of course a lot of events and parties slap the word Halloween into their title these days, but let’s be honest, most of them will not diverge much from their regular program and not a lot of guests will really dress up for the occasion. It’s also not really in the spirit of Halloween to move the event conveniently to the weekend. It is, after all, a holiday on the 31st of October – for a reason.

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10s Across the Board: A Ballroom Showdown for the Trophy

10s Across the Board: A Ballroom Showdown for the Trophy

photos: Frank R. Schröder. 

The Berlin Ballroom Scene has been cooking something up over the past months that finally came to light this past weekend. With the event “10s Across the Board: A Ballroom Showdown for the Trophy” the local scene took a new format to the stage of Theater des Westens that has never been done before in Berlin. It proposes an alternative to classic Balls with their competitions and battles on the runway, elevating Ballroom from the underground to the limelight of the big theater stages of the city.

Two Ballroom Legends are behind this spectacle: Mother Leo from the House of Saint Laurent and Mother Ambrosia from the House of Gorgeous Gucci. They teamed up with Tingel Tangel – the new program at Theater des Westens – to create something truly unique and fantastic.

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25 Years Potsdamer Platz: A Free Festival For Everyone

25 Years Potsdamer Platz: A Free Festival For Everyone

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When I went to Berlin alone for the first time 24 years ago, one of the first places I visited was Potsdamer Platz. At that time I was insanely impressed by the architecture, the stores, all the cinemas, theaters, and restaurants. I felt as if I had been transported to the future. What they came up with for this historic place back then absolutely resonated with me. 

This coming weekend, September 15-16, Potsdamer Platz is now celebrating its 25th anniversary with a big, free festival. A lot has happened in this quarter of a century. A whole neighborhood has developed around it, and the square as a whole is even busier and more active than when I first visited. In particular, the restructuring of the former Potsdamer Platz Arkaden into The Playce is probably the most striking recent change. It is the first mall in Berlin to undergo a major overhaul and attract visitors with a new concept.

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Cocktail & Movie 4 – Celebrating the Love Dramas and Decadence of the Fin de Siècle

Cocktail & Movie 4 – Celebrating the Love Dramas and Decadence of the Fin de Siècle

Once a year, the Staatsoper and iHeartBerlin invite readers and music enthusiast to the beautiful Apollosaal. For one night, the opera’s opulent marble reception hall takes on a dual role: a cinema and a cocktail bar. Related to the Opera season’s musical lineup, we hand-pick a film and craft a cocktail, aiming to stir the audience’s curiosity about a particular opera or musical piece. This year’s movie and drink by Zubrowka was all about the atmosphere and decadence of the start of the 20th century. Read on to learn more about it and see some impressions from this evening. 

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Free and Outdoors: 10 Great Events of the Kultursommerfestival in Berlin in August & September

Free and Outdoors: 10 Great Events of the Kultursommerfestival in Berlin in August & September

Advert. photo: Fabian Brennecke. 

This summer in Berlin has undoubtedly been more eventful than ever. In the last few weeks, we have attended more events and parties than we have in a long time, and I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun and beautiful moments.

We owe many of these events to the Kultursommerfestival, which has just celebrated its half-time. Since the end of June, around 100 cultural events have been taking place throughout Berlin, free of charge and outside. There is a lot to experience here until September 3, and to give you an overview, we have picked out 10 highlights for you that you should definitely visit.

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The iHeartBerlin Picnic at Staatsoper für Alle – The Bliss of Classical Music

The iHeartBerlin Picnic at Staatsoper für Alle – The Bliss of Classical Music

Berlin is not a city known for its love of stability and traditions. Things change rapidly, and what may be your favorite party or restaurant today could easily become dull and uninteresting tomorrow. As Berliners, we are spoiled with an infinity of options. However, there are certain events that should never be overlooked and genuinely deserve the label of “timeless.”

One of these rare gems is the annual free open-air concert, Staatsoper für Alle, which transforms Bebelplatz into a magnificent arena for classical music. Even if you haven’t been a fan of opera music in the past, attending this event may change your perspective. It’s similar to the effect of being in a stadium surrounded by devoted fans; eventually, the music will resonate with you.

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Experience the Magic: Sunset Concert & Classical Music Aperitivo with iHeartBerlin & Staatsoper Berlin

Experience the Magic: Sunset Concert & Classical Music Aperitivo with iHeartBerlin & Staatsoper Berlin

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As Summer returns, so does one of our favorite happenings: “Staatsoper für Alle” – the annual open-air that transforms Bebelplatz Unter den Linden into an open-air arena for classical music. With free admission, live performances, and a special pop-up picnic organized by us, our readers are in for an unforgettable experience.

I guess most of our iHeartBerlin readers have been to an open-air party, a festival, or any other kind of music experience you can have beneath the summer sky. But over the years, I noticed how many see classical music as something that can only be experienced behind closed doors in big concert halls and so on. But what if one of the biggest and central public spaces in Berlin would become an open-air concert venue? 

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11 Highlights Not to Miss at the Kultursommerfestival 2023

11 Highlights Not to Miss at the Kultursommerfestival 2023

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This past weekend the Kultursommerfestival 2023 kicked off with not one but nine events spread all over town. The opening is only one of around 100 cultural events that will take place until the end of the summer on September 3rd – all of them for free and outdoors. The program is super diverse and will include concerts, theater shows, performances, exhibitions, installations, parties and so much more.

As a partner of this year’s Kultursommerfestival we had the pleasure to create a list of highlights from the program to give our readers some guidance on which of the many events they definitely shouldn’t miss. There is something in there for everyone. It’s going to be such an eventful summer!

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100 Cultural Events For Free and Outside – The Kultursommerfestival 2023

100 Cultural Events For Free and Outside – The Kultursommerfestival 2023

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This summer is going to be great! I can feel it in my gut. Ok, admittedly summers in Berlin are usually always great. But somehow there’s something in the air. Everyone is in the mood to just have the best time.

We’re looking forward to visits to the lake, walks in the park, outdoor cinema, open-air parties, evenings by the canal, festivals and a lot of fun. And there’s a lot to experience this summer, too. In large part, we have the Kultursommerfestival (Cultural Summer Festival) to thank for that, which is taking place for the second time this year. From June 24 to September 3, the festival brings together a full program of 100 events. It is probably one of the largest joint projects of Berlin cultural institutions there is.

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