Neighbourhood Festival at Rathaus Schöneberg

City Festival at a Historic Address

Rathaus Schöneberg is one of Berlin's most iconic addresses — on June 26, 1963, US President John F. Kennedy held his "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech here in front of several hundred thousand Berliners. The forecourt was later named after him: John-F.-Kennedy-Platz. The neighbourhood festival of the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district has been held at this very spot since 2018 — a deliberately accessible city festival that reflects the diversity of one of Berlin's largest districts.

Who is Participating

Unlike most Berlin city festivals, which are mainly fairground events, the neighbourhood festival has a clear civil society character. The following will be represented at the stands:

• Non-profit organisations
• Clubs (sports, culture, social, migration, integration)
• Volunteer initiatives from the Schöneberg and Tempelhof neighbourhoods
• Cultural institutions of the district
• Neighbourhood managements

The application deadline for a stand is April 15th each year — about 100 stands fit in the square and the adjacent Freiherr-vom-Stein-Straße.

Programme

A mixed stage programme runs on the main stage from 12 PM: bands, choirs, dance groups from the district, plus a "Queer Hour" (Tempelhof-Schöneberg is considered one of Berlin's queerest districts, with the Regenbogenkiez as the historic centre of the LGBTQ+ scene). Between acts, there will be interviews with district institutions.

In the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Straße, there is the children's stage with interactive activities and an area with game stands. Food trucks and snack stands along the street.

Tempelhof-Schöneberg as a District

With over 350,000 inhabitants, Tempelhof-Schöneberg is one of Berlin's largest districts — and one of the most diverse: affluent bourgeoisie in the Bayerisches Viertel, queer creativity around Nollendorfplatz and Eisenacher Straße, immigrant-influenced neighbourhoods in Schöneberg-Nord and in Tempelhof. The neighbourhood festival brings this diversity together in one place for a day.