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Local Germany
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Local Germany
Fête de la Musique 2025: How to make the most of Germany's all-night music party
Fête de la Musique, held every year on June 21st, began in France but is increasingly popular in other countries, including Germany. This year, it falls on a Saturday, so festivities should be doubly raucous. Here's a look at what you need to know about this massive street party and how you can make the most of it. What is Fête de la Musique? Fête de la Musique was first held in France in 1982. In France, the evening features tens of thousands of musicians of all stripes playing in the street, from jazz quartets to underground DJs. The idea has caught on internationally, though usually on a smaller scale. It always takes place on the summer solstice, meaning there is plenty of sunlight to continue enjoying the performances as the evening goes on. Events usually begin in the afternoon, lasting well into the early hours. Performances are often free. Despite seeming to be very French, the idea for Fête de la musique came from an American - Joel Cohen - in the 1970s. He was at the time working for French national radio and he had the idea of spending a whole day - the longest day of the year - celebrating music. What's on this year In Germany, more than 140 towns and cities across the country will hold events. READ ALSO: Seven unmissable events happening around Germany in June 2025 Advertisement Fête de la Musique is most popular in Berlin, which was the first German city to hold the event in 1995, but other cities including Hannover, Munich and Stuttgart will also host festivities. A full list of events can be found on the Fête de la Musique Germany website . Breakdance and hip-hop artists perform on the stage at the Brandenburg Gate as part of the Fête de la Musique in 2023. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Soeren Stache Here is a selection of a few events to look out for around the country: Berlin Pankow is this year's partner borough, so expect especially joyous festivities in the northern neighbourhood. Over 40 venues will take part this year, including French Night at the Kesselhaus to the Evangelisches Gemeindehaus in Alt-Buch. Friedrichshain disco band Tango Bravo will play at 7:30pm in the Bärenzwinger in Mitte. The four-man band won the SPH Music Masters, Europe's largest live music competition, this year, so expect a packed-out venue. Classical music fans can head to Kulturforum Berlin at 7pm to see the Berlin Philharmonic play works by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, completely free. You can find the complete Berlin Fête Programme here . Hannover At the Hohes Ufer, Bazzookas from the Netherlands return for the sixth time with skapunk performances atop their yellow school bus, playing sets throughout the evening. The Ballhof stage promises eclectic and experimental sounds. The Pariser KunstKollektiv curates an adventurous program ranging from soulful pop and artsy electro to experimental funk and drum & bass. For a more relaxed setting, the singer-songwriter stage outside Fairkaufhaus on Limburgstraße 1 will host acoustic sets from artists including Nora Lotz and Frederik Tietz from 3pm to 8pm. More events in Hannover are found here . Advertisement Hamburg From 2pm, Altona train station will host live performances by the Knut Richter Duo, classic French songs with Rendez-Vous Chansons Swing, and the Balkan-inspired Strandgut Plus band. The Institut français will host Kumulo, a young German-French band with jazzy undertones, from 6:30pm. Later, THORD1S will play 80s-inspired pop, layered with deep bass, live vocals, and saxophone. More events can be found here . Rostock Over 20 stages will host diverse acts around Rostock on the Baltic coast. At Circus Fantasia, rock takes centre stage with bands including In Ora Mundi, Morpheme, and Richtungswexel. Klostergarten, meanwhile, will lean into the heavy side of music with melodic death metal, modern metalcore, and progressive noise acts. Other highlights include the eclectic Am Brink stage featuring funk, indie, and jazz and punk rock at Haedge Halbinsel. See this website for more details. Munich A small event will be held at the Institut Français de Munich from 5pm, featuring the Munich Franco-German choir, a jazz band, and an afro-house DJ set by DJ Linola. READ ALSO: How to make the most of Germany's long summer days
Local Germany
19-03-2025
- Business
- Local Germany
Berlin commuters to face 48-hour public transport strike this week
The Verdi trade union announced on Monday that it is calling for workers from the public transport operator, Berliner Verkehrsbetrieben (BVG), to take part in a 48-hour public transport strike later this week. It is the third round of strike action - and the longest - in the recent negotiations. The previous strikes - on January 27th and February 10th each lasted 24 hours. The industrial action will cause major disruption to people trying to get around the German capital. Most buses, the entire tram network, and U-Bahn services (the subway) will come to a standstill. As during previous strikes, U-Bahn stations will remain closed. READ MORE: How to get around Berlin during public transport strikes The strike will begin at 3am on Thursday and run until 3am on Saturday morning. But even after the action has concluded, services may still be irregular so passengers should expect further disruption. A statement from BVG said: "We ask for your understanding that services may still be irregular for a few hours after the end of the warning strike at around 3am on Saturday morning." Advertisement Public transport users in Berlin will be able to use the S-Bahn and regional trains, which are operated by Deutsche Bahn rather than BVG. Lines and services operated by other companies on behalf of BVG are also not affected by the strike. A strike notice in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Soeren Stache What is the strike about? The action is being held as part of an ongoing dispute over pay and conditions. The union is campaigning for better pay for around 16,600 employees at the state-owned BVG group. Demands include salary increases of €750 per month over a period of 12 months, as well as a 13th salary and other bonuses. BVG recently presented an offer to Verdi that included a wage increase of 17.6 percent over the next four years. However, the Verdi bargaining committee rejected the offer. "BVG has still not understood that the employees will not accept a wage reduction in real terms," said Jeremy Arndt, Verdi negotiator at BVG. "That is why we are now increasing the pressure." READ ALSO: Commuters in Berlin face disruption as fresh public transport strike announced Advertisement BVG slammed the union's renewed industrial action. "We appeal to the Verdi union to withdraw the completely exaggerated 48-hour strike and work together at the negotiating table to achieve a good result," said a spokesperson from BVG. The next round of negotiations is scheduled to take place on Wednesday next. Verdi has given the BVG an ultimatum to submit a satisfactory offer by March 21st. If a deal isn't reached by then, the union has threatened unlimited strikes, which could last much longer and cause huge disruption. It comes as a series of strikes affect public transport and services across Germany during a collective bargaining period. READ ALSO: Will Germany see more transport and public sector strikes?
