Name: Kite Festival Laboe 2026
Start: 2026-04-11T00:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-04-12T00:00:00+00:00
Location: Sportstrand Laboe (zwischen Schwimmhalle und Alter Lesehalle)

Kite Festival Laboe

About Kite Festival Laboe

The Drachenfest Laboe is a colourful spring festival on the sports beach of the Baltic seaside resort Laboe — directly on the Kiel Fjord, in the shadow of the famous Naval Memorial. For a weekend, giant kites of all sizes and shapes ascend into the spring sky over the Baltic Sea. The absolute highlight: the Night Flying on Saturday evening, when kites equipped with LEDs and light sources float over the beach in the twilight. Held between the swimming pool and the Old Reading Hall directly on the beach, the Kite Festival is a family and folk festival that attracts kite-flying enthusiasts from all over Northern Germany.

Dates 11 Apr — 12 Apr 2026

Venue Laboe (01057)

Prices Free

Status Confirmed

Edition 2026

Kite Festival Laboe — edition 2026

The Drachenfest Laboe 2026 took place on the weekend of April 11 and 12, 2026, on Laboe Sports Beach — between the swimming pool and the Old Reading Hall. Giant kites from all over Northern Germany ascended into the sky over the Kiel Fjord, and on Saturday evening, the weekend's highlight illuminated the sky: the night flying with LED-lit kites. Free admission, setup from Saturday morning, festival operations until Sunday afternoon at 4 PM.

Spring Kites 2026

The festival weekend of April 11/12, 2026, once again brought kite pilots from Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Scandinavia to Laboe's Sports Beach. The giant kites — huge octopuses, manta rays, multi-line constructions, and artistic fabric creatures — flew towards the Kiel Fjord.

Night Flying on Saturday Evening

The highlight of the weekend in 2026 was again the Night Flying on Saturday evening at dusk. LED-lit kites, reflectors, and light sources transformed the sky over Laboe into a floating light installation against the backdrop of the Fjord and the Naval Memorial.

Highlights Kite Festival Laboe 2026

Giant kites from Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands
Night flying on Saturday evening with LED kites
Laboe Sports Beach — one of Northern Germany's best kite-flying areas
Family programme with open workshop
Free admission

Programme Kite Festival Laboe 2026

Saturday, April 11, 2026 — Laboe Sports Beach

From 11:00 AM — Setup and free kite flying, all pilots welcome
Presentation of the giant kite teams
Open workshop atmosphere: construction techniques, kite-flying school for children
Evening (at dusk) — Night flying with LED and light-source kites against the backdrop of the Fjord and Naval Memorial

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Free flying all day
Until 4:00 PM — Festival wind-down on the Sports Beach

Exact registration and weather information available at laboe-event.de.

Prices Kite Festival Laboe 2026

Free admission for spectators. Registration for kite pilots and teams with the organiser.

Practical information

Practical information — Kite Festival Laboe

Getting There

By car: A215 Hamburg–Kiel, then B502 towards Laboe (approx. 30 min. from Kiel). Parking available directly at the Sports Beach and in the town centre. By train: Kiel Hauptbahnhof (main station), then bus line 100 or 101 to Laboe (approx. 45 min.) or SFK ferry across the Kiel Fjord to Laboe (seasonal).

Admission

Free admission for spectators. Kite pilots and teams must register with the organiser.

Weather

The Kite Festival needs wind — spring on the Kiel Fjord almost always provides it. In extreme conditions (storm), the programme will be adjusted. Warm, windproof clothing is recommended; the sand is still cool in April.

Kites on the Baltic Beach

Laboe is one of Northern Germany's most traditional kite-flying spots. The wide sandy beach along the Kiel Fjord, the characteristic steady wind due to its location between the fjord and the open Baltic Sea, and the natural stage — the beach is wide and open — make Laboe the perfect kite-flying area. Every April, the Drachenfest Laboe brings together hobby flyers and professional kite teams from all over Germany and neighbouring Scandinavia.

Giant Kites — Works of Art in the Sky

The focus is on the giant kites: two- to three-dimensional constructions made of fabric and carbon rods, often several metres in diameter, in the shape of octopuses, dragons (in the mythical sense), whales, kites (as in the toy), manta rays, and fantastical creatures. The builders not only present their works in competitions but also explain construction techniques and launching behaviour on the beach — an open workshop atmosphere with a family feel.

Night Flying on Saturday Evening

The absolute highlight of the festival is the Night Flying on Saturday evening: As darkness falls, the kites are equipped with LED lighting, reflectors, and light sources and released into the dark sky over Laboe. Against the backdrop of the Kiel Fjord and the illuminated Naval Memorial, an image is created that draws thousands of onlookers to the beach every year.

Laboe — Seaside Resort and Naval Location

Laboe is a small harbour town on the eastern shore of the Kiel Fjord, in the Plön district (Schleswig-Holstein). With the famous Naval Memorial Laboe (opened in 1936, 72 m high) and the adjacent submarine U 995 as a naval museum, Laboe is a historically rich place. Tourism, the navy, and water sports have shaped the town for over a hundred years — kite flying, kitesurfing, sailing, and land sailing have been part of local sports life for generations.