By Jennifer Porto*
The FIFA European Cup is headed to Berlin this summer — and Berlin’s cultural institutions are making the most of it!
FUSSBALLKULTURSOMMER kicks off on Wednesday, June 12, and promises over 100 events, free of charge, and held at the Fanmeile near the Brandenburg Gate and interspersed throughout the city. And many of Berlin’s cultural institutions will “bring the spirit of the FUSSBALLKULTURSOMMER to venues all across the city, offering a diverse array of fan-culture and football-related events on all 31 days of the Euro 2024.”
For the last Culture in the City entry, we noted it was too cold for outdoor Kino nights — but that’s no longer the case! Outdoor screenings are in full swing across the city. Long-time fans will know to bring a coat or blanket to stay cozy once the sun goes down. There’s even a special one right at the Brandenburg Gate, with a program of soccer-related films. If indoor seating is more your speed, you won’t want to miss the Zeughauskino’s series that promises to get viewers in the mood for UEFA 2024. And while you’re there, check out We Also Collect Films, featuring films from the Zeughaus archive. The Zeughaus asked itself, “What effect do our films, which otherwise lie silent and lonely on the shelf, have when they shine on the screen again? What happens when they are viewed and discussed, when they move us and make us think, when a wound-up celluloid tape starts to move in the cinema projector and transforms space and time?” This series is an attempt to answer those questions through July 21.
The Haus der Kulturen der Welt has a month-long program called Ballet of the Masses: On Football and catharsis. In typical fashion, the HKW notes, “As a pluri-disciplinary institution that encourages and lends space to the practices of visual and performative arts, sonic/music, literature and oralture, as well as scientific and cultural discursive formats, HKW opens up its doors to football as a practice and concept at the intersection of/with different formats in the quotidian.” The program runs from June 7 to July 11, and offers architecture, discourse, film, literature, music, and performance.
Berlin celebrates Pride Month in June, and one of the focal points for this year’s celebrations is soccer. As a part of the UEFA 2024 program, PMB will look at the “challenges LGBTQIA+ professional athletes still have to deal with today.”
The longest day of the year — June 21 — is Fête de la Musique, when the globe celebrates World Music Day. The entire city will come alive with hundreds of events bridging and defying genres — all in all, it’s a day of music-making not to miss! The program will be curated and updated from now until the big day, so be sure to check back regularly to see what’s been added.
While the major theaters go on break in mid-July, you still have plenty of time to catch what’s on offer there. The Komische Oper brings a GDR-era musical to a gorgeous Art Deco tent installed at the foot of the city’s Red City Hall from now until the end of the season. Marc-André Dalbavie and David Marton bring a commission worked called Melancholy of Resistance to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, and the Deutsche Oper follows their cycle performances of the Ring with gems such as Nixon in China, Nabucco, and Tristan und Isolde. The Staatsballet will also present Verdi’s Messa da requiem in a ballet production by Christian Spuck, who came to Berlin from Zurich this season to head up the Berlin State Ballet.
But there’s so much culture to be found in Berlin — street musicians busking along the canal, artists selling their creations at weekend flea markets, and smaller festivals spring up on a nearly weekly basis. Check out the city’s official event portal to see what else is on offer!
Jennifer Porto is the Arts Coordinator at NYU Berlin.