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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Creative Forces in Berlin: An Interview with Choreographer Constanza Macras

Creative Forces in Berlin: An Interview with Choreographer Constanza Macras

Constanza Macras is one of the creative souls of Berlin, who enriches our favorite city through her ideas and impulses. Born in Buenos Aires, she studied dance and fashion design before a good mix of coincidence and purpose led her to Amsterdam, New York and, finally, to Berlin. In 2003 she founded the DorkyPark Company, an interdisciplinary ensemble that works with dance, text, live music, and film. In their latest piece DRAMA, which celebrated its premiere in January, a group of performers explores the possibilities of stage space in the post-pandemic age, probing the relationship between real stage space and virtual networks. 

I had the chance to ask Constanza a few questions for iHeartBerlin about her new piece, her life, and her perspectives on the arts scene.

This week you can watch both DRAMA and their previous production The Future at Volksbühne on June 22 and 23.

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On Is Bringing More Movement To Berlin

On Is Bringing More Movement To Berlin

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Berlin is a city that is always in motion. But now that it’s Spring and it’s getting warmer, everyone is feeling the buzz and getting more active – just the right timing for the Movement Week Berlin – a sports program that was initiated by Swiss sportswear brand On in collaboration with Urban Sports Club.

The Movement Week Berlin is not just purely about sports, it’s about community, enabling access to sports, motivation, and experimentation. Its aim is to bring experienced athletes and sports enthusiasts together in one place with those of you that are curious and want to become more active. You don’t have to be advanced in any discipline to join in on the fun. 

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Brave New Fashion: This Is The Next Generation of Berlin Designers

Brave New Fashion: This Is The Next Generation of Berlin Designers

Berlin’s fashion scene and especially our local Fashion Week have gone through some fundamental changes in recent years. What we appreciate most about it is: It has shed the old veil of the past and presented itself in a new guise. What we have seen here in the past year brought together everything our fashion hearts desire: exceptional talents from Berlin, whose creations surprise us, captivate us, blow us away, and inspire us to dream. Believe us: we had more than one moment where we thought: “Wait, what’s happening right now? And is this really happening in good old Berlin?”

In our opinion, six labels in particular have the potential to be true game changers, not only shaping Berlin through their work but also re-establishing the city in the ranks of the international fashion scene. What impresses us most about them is their courage to break with conventions and rethink fashion. They say goodbye to superficialities and celebrate craftsmanship, individuality, sustainability, and diversity. And an equally new and fresh audience celebrated them during Berlin Fashion Week. We have the feeling that Berlin propelled itself into a new era and our favorite city is finally showing again why it can easily keep up with the big fashion metropolises of this world. 

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