01 THU
VOLKSBAD Closing
STAGE This is your final chance for a last splash in the VOLKSBAD. The swimming pool installed outside the Volksbühne in August to celebrate the theatre’s new director Matthias Lilienthal position closes today. You didn’t hear this from us, but it’s rumoured that Florentina Holzinger could make an impromptu appearance, so don’t forget your swimming cossi – or do (a naked performance is her forte)!
- Volksbühne.
Nestervals Eldorado
STAGE Bringing the Eldorado back to Berlin, the Vienna-based immersive theatre collective Nesterval are staging a whopping three-hour immersive performance that guides punters through the Sophiensæle and showcases the lives of LGBTQ people fleeing persecution from the Nazis. Wear comfortable shoes and bring tissues.
- Sophiensæle. Through Oct 4.
02 FRI
Design Börse Berlin
MARKET If you’re tired of the same old, half-broken DDR furniture that floods the capital’s flea markets, this specialist design market that focuses on Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Bauhaus and Mid Century Modern will certainly offer alternatives and rinse your cash at the same time.
- Tribünenhalle of the Karlshorst Horse Racing Track. Through Oct 4.
MASH UP!
LGBTQ Celebrating a double whammy of anniversaries, this queer feminist collective is laying it on thick. They’ve planned a huge party headlined by Brazilian punk royalty As Mercenárias. This will be the first time the band has performed in Berlin in their forty-year existence. Rounding off the bill are local bands, DJs and a butch barber – yes, you heard that right.
- S036.
AL Festival
FESTIVAL Solidarity, cultural exchange and community gatherings take centre stage at this festival which brings together multidisciplinary practices and artists, musicians, filmmakers and cultural shapeshifters from the SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) region.
- Various venues. Through Oct 10.
KABARET KLUB
STAGE Having shaped the Berlin cabaret scene with their glorious mix of queer and surreal performance spectacles, showstopper Lilly Mortis creates a visionary night where inhibitions can be left at the door. Tonight belongs to the fancy folks, so prepare for some razzle dazzle.
- Ballhaus Berlin. Through Oct 3.
Men Under Pressure – The Conversation Continues
TALK This year’s African Book Festival was a fascinating foray of hot topics, but one got particularly heated. ‘Men Under Pressure’ asked a simple question: how can men take responsibility? Finding no clear consensus, they decided to keep the conversation going. Celia Parbey will facilitate the discussion between JJ Bola, author of Mask Off: Masculinity Redefined, #HeForShe Germany ambassador Fikri Anil Altintas and British-Nigerian gay rights activist Bisi Alimi.
- Hotel MOA Berlin, 19:30
03 SAT
8th Jugglers’ Festival at the Berlin Citadel
MARKET Some might say we’re still living in the middle ages in Berlin. However, an actual market focused entirely on the arts, crafts, food and entertainment of the middle ages (we’re talking the 5th century) is taking over Spandau with a jugglers festival in tow. Quite what they’ll be juggling is a mystery.
- Zitadelle Berlin. Through Oct 4.
Schöneberg Pumpkin Festival
FOOD You can safely say that autumn’s here when smashing pumpkins (not the band) pop up on supermarket shelves. Well, in the lead up to Halloween, there’s plenty of time to get creative with your pumpkin carving and browse the many varieties on offer. This festival will have about 10,000 different shapes and sizes to peruse at your own leisure.
- Akazienstraße and Belziger Straße. Through Oct 4.
Open Mosque Day
ARCHITECTURE On this day every year, the Islamic religious communities of Germany all come together to orgaise the nationwide Open Mosque Day. It invites locals to step inside, have a chat and learn more about Islamic faith, history and architecture. A large number of Berlin’s mosques will be open – and it’s free.
- Various locations.
Tag der Clubkultur
CLUB We all know Berlin’s nightlife shifts and changes with the seasons. But it always remains an integral element of the city’s cultural landscape. Now in its seventh year, this week-long programme features awards, club nights, panels and workshops, and reminds us what binds this city together.
- Various locations. Through Oct 11.
05 MON
Berlin Food Week
FOOD Get ready to masticate your way through the city. Berlin Food Week serves up a delicious variety of treats to tempt your taste buds. Featuring a House of Food (food hall), a variety of specialist foodie nights and a sober day festival called Oksoberfest, it covers all palettes and tastes. Eat it up.
- Various locations. Through Oct 11.
06 TUE
desirelines book club
BOOK CLUB No two book clubs are the same. This one, hosted by award-winning writer Monika Radojevic, explores sex and desire in literature, and it takes place at everyone’s favourite new Admiralbrücke bookshop. This October, the group is reading Sky Daddy by Kate Folk. It’s about a woman who’s so sexually attracted to planes, she dreams of marrying one by perishing in a climaxing plane crash filled with deathly bliss. For any fellow aerophobes out there, what better way to overcome a fear of flying?
- desirelines books, 19:00.
07 WED
Female Filmmakers Festival Berlin
FILM Back with a bang for its eighth edition, this film festival centres female, femme and non-binary filmmakers from around the world. The programme is a heady mix of documentaries, feature films, music videos, dance and fashion films, plus panel talks and speed networking events. It hits home the importance and necessity of centering female voices within the film industry.
- Kino Moviemento. Through Oct 11.
The Sublime Society
KINK This gloriously seductive soiree features the crème de la crème of burlesque, cabaret and Shibari. The show is a thrilling and intoxicating mix of song, spice and spectacle. Read more in our kink guide.
- LILIUM.
08 THU
Festival of Animation
FILM Animation stretches well beyond cartoons and children’s films. Bringing together 161 films from 78 countries across four days of screenings, competitions and events, the festival includes everything from hand-drawn and stop-motion work to CGI specials. The competition programme is split across five strands, including German and international animation, emerging student filmmakers and commissioned work. Meanwhile, the additional programme gets considerably weirder, with ‘horror special’ ventures into sci-fi and body-folk dread. There’s also a documentary strand from the Factual Animation Film Festival. FAB is where you realise just how elastic the form of animation can be; some of the most interesting films being made right now don’t look remotely like a cartoon.
- silent green and City Kino Wedding. Through Oct 11.
The West Ain’t What It Used To Be
STAGE Dolly Parton makes a posthumous appearance in this play that examines the American Dream, or what’s left of it. Buckle up. We’ve heard it’s going to be explosive. Read the full interview in the stage section.
- English Theatre Berlin. Through Oct 17.
09 FRI
Berlin Breakaway Soul Weekender 2026
MUSIC If you weren’t clubbing in the 1960s at the now legendary Wigan Casino Northern Soul all nighters (we’re assuming most of you weren’t), this could be the next best thing. A weekend of Northern Soul, Motown and R&B awaits you in the heart of Alexanderplatz. Make sure to pop into DM and get your talc (insider joke).
- Haus Ungarn. Through Oct 11.
Festival of Lights
FESTIVAL It’s that time of year when the city’s buildings get flooded in psychedelic light and surreal animations. The annual festival lights up (literally) the Berlin Cathedral, Fernsehturm and most of the monuments in Mitte and Potsdamer Platz with colourful projections. This year’s theme is ‘Colours of Love’, so show up and show some love.
- Various locations.
Jazz in the Minister Gardens
MUSIC If you’ve ever wanted to hear big-band jazz from Brandenburg or a jazz soloist from Saarland, this jazz festival brings together musicians from seven federal states. Now in its 23rd year, you guessed it, it’s going to be jazzy.
- Ministergärten.
ELSI CLUB 5 YEARS
CLUB The Berlin-based label and party series dedicated to Italo house and disco are now five years old. To celebrate, they’re throwing a birthday party headlined by the Italian disco queen Patrizia Pellegrino. Mamma Mia! Read all about it in the club guide.
- OXI.
Next Door
ART Back in the early 2000s, the five heavy-hitting artists involved in the Hamburger Bahnhof’s forthcoming exhibition, Next Door, had studios located in the warehouses quite literally next door to the museum. Although each participating artist has a vastly different practice, aesthetic and conceptual base, their proximity brought them together once before, and it will once again. Tacita Dean, Thomas Demand, Olafur Eliasson, Henrik Håkansson and Tomás Saraceno will all be presenting their works in this uniquely curated show as part of the Hamburger Bahnhof’s 30th anniversary celebrations.
- Hamburger Bahnhof
10 SAT
People Festival
MUSIC If gigs have felt a little stale recently and you’re looking for something extra, then People Festival returns with a format so revolutionary you won’t know what’s hit you. Featuring over 180 artists, this is an event as much as it is a cultural moment – bands, artists, musicians all collaborating to create something unique. It’s time to live in the moment and watch the magic unfold.
- Funkhaus. Through Oct 11.
11 SUN
Tracey Zero (sober)
CLUB Much like Coke Zero dominating the sugar-free fizzy drink market, our gal Tracey aims to do the same with clubs and chems. This alcohol and drug-free event encourages clubbers to take a sober approach to the dance floor, and aims to create a space that’s community-driven and clean.
- Kreuzwerk.
13 TUE
Marina Abramovic – Balkan Erotic Epic
STAGE The stage version of the recent exhibition at Gropius Bau kicks off the Performing Arts Season 26/27.
- Haus der Berliner Festspiele. Through Oct 17.
14 WED
Ukrainian Film Festival
FILM Eight cinemas are bringing contemporary Ukrainian cinema to Berlin. This year’s theme, ‘Emergency Spaces’, turns its attention towards liminal places of refuge, solidarity and uncertainty. When reality feels strangely unstable, spaces exist somewhere between crisis and community, the everyday and the surreal. The festival has consistently looked beyond the obvious wartime narrative to champion the breadth of Ukrainian filmmaking, from documentaries and experimental shorts to fiction, genre cinema and films engaging with Ukraine’s complex cultural history. Previous editions ranged from Ukrainian sci-fi and intimate frontline documentaries to Soviet-era retrospectives and short-film competitions. UFFB is as much about discovering a vibrant, restless national cinema as it is about understanding the country through film.
- Various venues, Through Oct 18.
15 THU
Girls of the Internet
MUSIC It’s their first-ever full-band show on German soil; the British sound system collective will brandish their renowned repertoire of vocal house, garage and disco in Berghain’s little-sister venue. This collaborative project from Tom Kerridge is rooted in classic Chicago house. It’s going to be a hip-shaking, hand-waving night, with some of the best vocalists you’ve ever heard.
- Kantine am Berghain, 19:00.
Berlin Burlesque Festival
STAGE With a cast that has more rhinestones per square metres of Berlin than anyone, this Burlesque festival is a who’s-who of the genre that dates back over a hundred years. With a Swarovski-studded international cast, there’ll be plenty of absurdity and nudity (tastefully, of course) abound. Get ready to shake a tail-feather with the best of ’em.
- Various venues. Through Oct 18.
Cesar Klein. Image Space Stage
ART Jack of all trades Cesar Klein has an artistic portfolio that covers painting, graphic art, interior design, mosaics, stained-glass windows, furniture and porcelain. If that wasn’t enough, Klein was also responsible for shaping the aesthetics of the Weimar Republic through his stage designs and film. Some call him a leading figure in Berlin Modernism. See for yourself.
- Bröhan Museum. Through Mar 29, 2027.
16 FRI
Wunderkammer
STAGE If you’ve not yet had a chance to watch this opulent contemporary ballet that exists within dreamlike and unreal spheres, it’s back for dates in October and November. Expect a decadent mix of twisted glamour and curious states of hedonism reminiscent of a weekend in Berghain.
- Komische Oper Berlin. Through Nov 8.
Porträts! Überraschende Begegnungen von Botticelli bis Lempicka
ART Long before selfies were invented, portraiture was a way to document, record and reflect on somebody’s characteristics, wealth, status and personality. This new exhibition examines portraits from six centuries to see the similarities and differences, and asks us to look closely at the information that’s hidden within the brushstrokes.
- Gemäldegalerie. Through Mar 14, 2027.
Sheena Is
GIG Those rascals have only gone and taken over the Lido. After several sold-out shows in Schokoladen earlier in the year, this queer-punk-live-band-oriented night returns. Headlining tonight is Girls in Your Area, who are celebrating the release of their debut album. Plus there’s support from Tami T and, of course, residing over the proceedings is BLEACH.
- Lido.
Heavy Psych Sound Fest
MUSIC If headbanging is your thing, then this two-day festival featuring stoner, doom and heavy psych rock is the perfect place to let your hair down. With bands such as Hippie Death Cult, Lord Elephant and Valley of the Sun, I think you get the picture.
- Neue Zekunft. Through Oct 17.
Obscura Film Festival
FILM Berlin’s cult genre crowd gets its annual fix as Obscura Filmfestival celebrates its 10th edition with two densely programmed days of international horror, sci-fi, thriller and generally fucked-up cinema. The festival deliberately favours films that sit outside the mainstream genre circuit, making it the place to find something that will genuinely mess with your head.
- Zoo Palast Club B and Hall 3.
17 SAT
Berlin by Foot: Martha Ndumbe: Colonial Legacies in Wedding
WALKINGTOUR Get ready to hoof around Wedding and explore the colonial histories embedded in the streets. Gesundbrunnen, too. As part of ‘Berlin by Foot’, this walking tour centres around Martha Ndumbe and asks, ‘What can the life of one Berlin woman tell us about colonialism, Nazi persecution and the histories still written into the city around us?’ It starts at Martha-Ndumbe-Platz, the former Nettelbeckplatz, which was renamed in 2025 after decades of debate around colonial traces in Berlin’s public space.
- Reinickendorfer Str. 110 (Meet at the fountain in the centre of Martha-Ndumbe-Platz).
Pinky Promise
CLUB The theme for this month’s event is ‘Midnight Circus’. With kink and circus going hand in hand, we can only expect mischief to take centre stage. See the kink guide for more info.
- Club OST.
Autumn Market at Domäne Dahlem
MARKET Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the clocks go back this month. Then it will really feel like winter is on the horizon. But fear not, the leafy streets of Dählem are celebrating this transitional period with their annual Autumn Festival, full of seasonal fare and fun.
- Domäne Dahlem. Through Oct 18.
18 SUN
Müggelsee Half Marathon
SPORT Following the Berlin marathon last month, this is one of the last big races of the year. This jaunt is only a half marathon (easy, right?). That’s 21.1km to novices, and it wraps around the perimeter of Muggelsee. For those not wanting to torture themselves, 10k and 5k are also offered around the shore.
- Hotel Müggelsee Berlin.
20 TUE
Pornfilmfestival
FILM The 21st edition of Pornfilmfestival has arrived and it’s juicier than ever. For more details, check out our kink calendar.
- Various locations. Through Oct 25.
22 THU
Sarah Davichi
GIG Organ specialist and electro-acoustic experimentalist Sarah Davichi will mesmerise attendees with her slow-burn, underground drone. The Canadian composer is best known for crafting minimalist, textured compositions that blend baroque noise and church organs. She’ll be performing new solo and ensemble works, alongside flutes and strings. This is a chance to see a pioneering artist in one of Berlin’s grandest venues.
- Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, 19:00
23 FRI
3hd-festival
FESTIVAL According to the organisers, we live in “the age of the unthinkable”, when disinformation and truth become blurred and indistinguishable. This festival invites artists to unpack and repackage discourses surrounding fear, belief systems and meaning, bringing together performances, workshops and DJs over two weekends.
- Various locations. Through Nov 1.
Manga & Entertainment Expo
EXPO Transforming the Messe into the mecca of Manga merch, this festival-cum-lifestyle fair is a must for anyone who is a fan of this genre. There will be cosplay competitions, comics, celebrities, live performances and signings.
- Messe Berlin. Through Oct 25.
Tanja Ostojić: ENCOUNTERS – On Bodies, Borders, Resistance.
ART Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien is now staging the largest exhibition of Ostojić’s work in Germany. Across a practice dealing with migration, feminism and institutional power, she repeatedly puts herself inside the systems she critiques, using her own body and legal status to test their limits and expose the roles they force people to perform. “My approach to art is definitely not nine-to-five,” says Ostojić, reflecting on the performative marriage that brought her to Düsseldorf. “I often work with issues over long periods, and that gives the work a certain accountability. But when someone approaches me about doing something similar, I would definitely advise against it.”
- Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien
24 SAT
Berlin Sci-Fi FilmFest
FILM Berlin gets futuristic. The Berlin Sci-Fi FilmFest brings together international science fiction features, shorts and animation. Moving beyond the usual spaceships-and-lasers formula, it delves deep into dystopia, AI, psychological horror and the more experimental corners of speculative cinema. It’s a good reminder that sci-fi has always been one of the best genres for talking about the present while pretending to talk about the future.
- Michelberger Hotel, Through Oct 25
WeinBerlin
FOOD Apparently, they’ve got 900 wines on offer, which is clearly a sign that you’ll be off your trolley by the time you leave. Only joking! We know Germans are responsible drinkers. But if you do find your latest favourite tipple, you’ll have the chance to order it directly from the vineyard and cut out the middleman.
- Colosseum Berlin. Through Oct 25.
25 SUN
Fujiko Nakaya – Fog is Closing
ART Is it time for the fog to finally clear? The Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya’s site-specific fog sculpture in the garden of the Neue Nationalgalerie is closing today. So this is your last chance to get lost in the fog and reflect on the dialogue between the transient medium and the permanent sculptures around the garden.
- Neue Nationalgalerie.
28 WED
Sound Metaphors Festival Part 2
MUSIC If you’re craving techno, ambient, dub and live electronic music, the Sound Metaphors Festival has you covered. Back for part two, and located in the big house itself, the carefully selected acts focus primarily on live performances, human expression and a deep love for music.
- Kantine am Berghain, Through Oct 30.
29 THU
World Peace Culture and Arts Festival 2026
The world’s largest symphony orchestra of monks is coming to Berlin for a very special – and completely free – concert at the Great Hall of the Berlin Philharmonie. Led by founder and conductor Maestro Shi Wule, the WuLe Symphony Orchestra will be joined by three members of the Berlin Philharmonic, who will perform a selection of classical works alongside the monks. A master of the Chan tradition, Maestro Shi Wule is also an internationally recognised figure in the dialogue between spirituality, art and culture.
- Berlin Philharmonie.
House of Lunacy The Danse Macabre
KINK House of Lunacy hosts its final chapter of the year this October. Fittingly, as their year comes to a close, the theme is decay. Read more about it in our kink calendar.
- Club Renate.
Jazzfest Berlin
MUSIC Dust off your fedoras, Jazzfest is back. The four-day event will host more than 135 of the world’s finest and funkiest musicians. Alongside the vast lineup of musical events, there will be a number of film screenings at the festival, one of which is an Oscar nominee. The festival will conclude with a Berlin legend: Alexander von Schlippenbach and his Globe Unity Orchestra. The ensemble made music history in the 1960s when it challenged audiences at the Philharmonie Berlin with its uncompromising free jazz.
- Various locations. Through Nov 1.
30 FRI
Halloween The Abandoned Factory
CLUB For a truly unique way to celebrate Halloween, this party is located in an abandoned factory deep within Prenzlauer Berg. In what will feel like a labyrinth of underground caverns, you can dance the night away within the factory’s foundations, lose yourself in the thumpin’ bass and disappear behind the dense fog. This party is strictly a dress-up event. No costume, no entry. We don’t make the rules.
- Greifswalder Str. 23a
Festival Theater der Dinge
STAGE Every autumn, Schaubude organises the international festival for contemporary object and puppet theatre, exploring boundaries and emphasising experimentation with related art forms such as performance, visual arts, dance, digital art, and music. This year is the 15th installment of the festival, and the theme is ‘World as a Model’.
- Schaubude. Through Nov 5.
5 Years of Gabber Industries Berlin
CLUB After a successful fourth anniversary party last year, Gabber Industries are back for a fifth year to deliver the ‘hardcore happening of the year’. Leaning into their hardcore roots and the underground scene Berlin was built on, Gabber invites everyone to their authentic, modern and progressive Hardcore Halloween special. There’s no specific dress code but crazy costumes are welcome.
- Club OST.
31 SAT
The Velvet Creepers Shadow Ball
STAGE The Velvet Creepers Halloween Ball brings cabaret, circus, burlesque, drag and queer performance art all to one stage. It’s a one-night-only party, so dress to impress. There will be tricks and treats as well as performances from Dunja von K and Fifi Fantôme with many special guest ghouls and DJs. As always, expect the unexpected.
- Ballhaus Berlin.
Halloween im Park
KIDS Britzer Garten invites witches, monsters and ghouls big and small to their annual spooktacular Halloween event. There will be face-painting, a Halloween disco, spooky fairy tales, an exhilarating fire show and a costume competition. Beware, though, The Headless Man and enchanting witches are known to make appearances on the night.
- Britzer Garten.
Unterwelt Festival
FESTIVAL This new music festival offers a gothic vibe for those who want to experience something a little darker this Halloween. Centred around darkwave, EBM and minimal synth, each of the 15 live acts promises to keep it classy, sexy, relentless and raw. Dancefloors open at midnight for those who love the nightshift.
- Festsaal Kreuzberg.
Lichtenberger Winterzeit
XMAS MARKET Move aside, spooky season, Mariah Carey is defrosting! And she’s just in time for the first Christmas market of the year. Opening its doors as soon as it can, the Lichtenberger Winterzeit market is an (especially) early opportunity for some festive merriment. Decked out with a wintry Christmas atmosphere, culinary delights and spectacular rides, visitors can expect a winter wonderland full of adventure and fun for the whole family.
- Landsberger Allee. Through Dec 27.
