Newroz Festival Potsdam

Newroz – The Kurdish New Year

The Newroz Festival is one of the most important celebrations in Kurdish culture. It stands for freedom, resistance, hope, and new beginnings and is celebrated on the astronomical vernal equinox on March 21. Its roots reach back to Zoroastrian times; today, Newroz is celebrated by Kurds in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and in the diaspora worldwide.

Volkspark Potsdam as a Stage

In Potsdam, the festival has taken place for years on the event stage in Volkspark – a wide, open area in the state capital of Brandenburg. In 2026, the festival begins at 12 p.m. and attracts around 2,000 visitors throughout the day.

Program

Several stages and a market area are set up on the festival grounds. Throughout the day, dance groups perform traditional Kurdish dances (Govend), live bands play Kurdish and Middle Eastern music, and associations showcase folklore, traditional costumes, and plays. The traditional fire jump – a symbol of purification and new beginnings – is one of the highlights.

Kurdish Community in Brandenburg

Brandenburg, and especially the Berlin-Potsdam region, is home to a growing Kurdish diaspora. Several Kurdish associations from the region organize the Newroz Festival in Potsdam together with Volkspark as the organizer and venue. The event is an important meeting point for the community and, at the same time, an invitation to the majority society in Brandenburg to get to know Kurdish culture.

Migration as Tradition

The Newroz Festival is one of the largest migration celebrations in the state of Brandenburg. It demonstrates the diversity of the cultural landscape beyond traditional folk festivals. In the district of Potsdam (independent city) and the capital region, it is a fixed date in the event calendar.