Queens & Flowers — Drag Summer Festival at the Botanical Garden Berlin

Drag in the Middle of the Tropical Greenhouses

The Botanical Garden Berlin in Dahlem is one of the largest botanical gardens worldwide — and an unusual location for a drag festival. This combination is precisely what makes Queens & Flowers so appealing: an open-air drag summer festival on one of the garden's central lawns, with views of historic greenhouses and exotic vegetation as a backdrop. The organizer is Place2Be Berlin, the SIEGESSÄULE magazine's LGBTIQ* tourism and event platform, in cooperation with the Botanical Garden and supported by the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district office.

Stars from "Drag Race Germany" on the Main Stage

The 2025 stage program (the 3rd edition is expected to be similar) combined international headliner acts with German drag stars: Hosts Kaey and Gisela Sommer, plus Antina Christ as a second presenter, international drag artists such as Lawunda Richardson, Christina Corpse, and Michele Clark, plus the grand headliner finale with "Drag Race Germany" stars Tessa Testicle, Yvonne Nightstand, and Metamorkid. Complemented by a live concert by Marcella Rockefeller, DJ sets by DJ Ixa, and comedy contributions.

More Than Drag — Botany and Families

The programmatic hallmark is the mix of drag show and family program:

• Drag Queen Reading Hour for Children — hosted by Vivienne Lovecraft and Rachel Intervention, with age-appropriate stories
• Botanical Tours through the greenhouses with garden guides
• Educational Program about plants, including special cactus tours
• Family-friendly daytime hours (3–10 PM) with adult programming in the late afternoon and evening

This combination makes the festival one of the few Berlin queer events that are explicitly family-friendly — children under 14 received free admission in the previous year's edition.

Political Anchoring

The support from the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district and the Botanical Garden Berlin (as an institution of the Freie Universität Berlin / State of Berlin) makes the festival an institutionally visible statement: Queer culture in the traditionally conservative-perceived Berlin Southwest district, with explicit protection and promotion by municipal bodies. The format serves as a model for similar events in other major German cities.