Events and festivals in Berlin on the weekend of November 7 and 8, 2026 range from military music to gaming. The Berlin Tattoo puts 700 musicians on the stage of the Max-Schmeling-Halle in three shows.
The Max-Schmeling-Halle stands on the Falkplatz in Prenzlauer Berg. That is where the Berlin Tattoo plays on Saturday, November 7, 2026, and on Sunday, November 8. Events and festivals in Berlin on the weekend of November 7 and 8, 2026 range from military music to gaming. The Berlin Tattoo puts 700 musicians on the stage of the Max-Schmeling-Halle in three shows.
700 musicians in the Max-Schmeling-Halle
The Berlin Tattoo gathers around 700 musicians from several European countries. Three shows are spread over the two days. About 15,000 visitors are expected over the weekend.
Marching bands, pipes and drums, brass bands and massed pipes fill the program. Choreographed parades, tight marching formations and solos on percussion and Highland bagpipes alternate over roughly two and a half hours.
The name has nothing to do with body art. It goes back to the Dutch “Doe den tap toe”, the evening order to innkeepers in garrison towns to stop serving beer to the soldiers.
The hall opened in 1996 for Berlin's ultimately unsuccessful Olympic bid and has almost 12,000 seats. Since 2017 the Berlin edition has been run by Musikparade GmbH of Oldenburg. It is by far the largest tattoo show in the city.
It is an eight-minute walk from Schönhauser Allee station. Trams M10 and M1 stop nearby.
Alte Münze, Tiergarten and the Auenkirche
Games Ground Berlin opens to the public on Saturday and Sunday in the Alte Münze on Molkenmarkt, with three large stages, cosplay, esports, retro gaming and an indie showcase. The cosplay contest takes place on Saturday. The Berlin Science Week has run since November 1 with more than 300 events, and its Festival Centre sits in the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in the Tiergarten from November 6 to 8 for the first time, with a late-night festival on Saturday evening and a Family Sunday on the 8th. The Berlin Freedom Week begins on Saturday and runs until November 14, around the anniversary of the fall of the Wall, with conferences, eyewitness talks, theater and films.
The short film festival Kuki starts its 19th edition on Sunday, November 8, with films for children and teenagers at the Filmtheater am Friedrichshain, the City Kino Wedding and the Zeiss-Großplanetarium. All films run in the original language, with live dubbing or subtitles. The Berlin Fairy Tale Days last from November 5 to 22 and take over schools, libraries, theaters and multigenerational centers. Their 37th edition is about music in fairy tales and stories.
For the 125th anniversary of the Chorverband Berlin, a concert takes place on Sunday, November 8, in the Evangelische Auenkirche in Charlottenburg. It belongs to the concert series “12 Bezirke”, and all concerts are free. Free reservations are possible for the Auenkirche.
On Nollendorfplatz in Schöneberg, the LGBTQIA* Winterdays of the Christmas Avenue open on Saturday, November 7, at the historic subway station building. The stage is in use from 7 p.m., with drag shows, karaoke, live acts and DJs. Admission is free. Entry from age 16, open from 3 to 10 p.m.