#494: Nightlife zones, smaller school classes, queer burial site, cleaner S-Bahn, new festival
The sunniest place in Germany!
Dear 20 Percent,
I was transporting my two children in our cargobike when one of those giant police vans turned right in front of me, cutting me off. A close call. Thankfully, the kids didn’t notice a thing. But it scared the daylights out of me.
Polizei Berlin, if you’re reading this, could you think about giving your people a refresher course on sharing the road?
The experience made me want to get a car. 😱
News below.
Maurice
💡If you haven’t checked out Handpicked’s Salary Trends 2026 Report yet, do give it a look. When it comes to pay, I definitely chose the wrong profession: Media/culture are near the bottom of the table. At least I love my job.
❤️ Thanks to this issue’s sponsors, Grape Odyssey and Feather Insurance
Later outdoor drinking in “nightlife quarters”
Berlin’s districts have expressed doubts about economy minister Fransiska Giffey’s (SPD) plans to allow bars to serve customers outside past 10pm in designated Ausgehviertel (“going out quarters”). Under a new law, the central government would designate certain streets as party zones, permitting outdoor service til 11pm on weekdays and midnight on weekends and holidays. But the districts want to chose the zones themselves, which makes sense to me. Giffey also aims to cut bureaucracy for restaurants and bars — but the part allowing later outdoor service has potential for conflict. Renters associations are already pitted against the Chamber of Commerce, which favours later hours. Restauranteer Marc-Alexey Papanastasiou told Taz: “Lots of people move there because they love the lively atmosphere. And then the businesses that add life to the neighbourhood have to close because some people find it too noisy.” 🎯
Fire at Oxi
Staying with nightlife, police are investigating a possible arson attack on the Oxi nightclub in Lichtenberg. Firefighters were alerted to the fire early Monday morning. In March, a music venue at RAW in Friedrichshain was targeted by an arson attack— and Nazi grafitti.
Smaller classes at 140 schools
Berlin is reducing class size in “social hotspot” schools to the benefit of disadvantaged kids. According to an agreement signed by Berlin education minister Katharina Günther-Wünsch (CDU) and the GEW teachers union, 140 of Berlin’s 457 primary schools will reduce classes from 24 pupils to 20. The programme will cost €32 million per year. GEW had been demanding smaller classes. Union leader Gökhan Akgün said recent strikes had yielded results.
Queer memorial site
On Sunday, a new burial and memorial site for queer people was inaugurated at the Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof (churchyard) in Schöneberg. The site was created by Schwulenberatung Berlin and aims to offer a dignified final resting place for LGBTQ+ people, as well as a space for collective memory and reflection.
Cleaner, safer S-Bahns?
Beginning in June, the Berlin S-Bahn network says it will up its cleaning and security game by “12-13%”. Roving cleaners accompanied by security guards will begin shifts at 5am. The teams will also be tasked with removing disruptive passengers and homeless people.
Local festival at Tempelhof
“BERLIN ACTS ONLY” shouts the site of the new TFELD festival on August 22. This is your chance to turbo-integrate into Berlin culture with a full day of local hip hop and electronic music. The folks from closed-down techno club Watergate are in charge of the afterparty. 25,000 partiers expected.
Events this week, curated by The Next Day Berlin
🧠The 20% Berlin News Quiz Wednesday 20.05 · 6:30pm · Electric Social, Grunerstraße 13, Mitte · €4 Test your knowledge of Berlin and German news, current affairs and trivia over drinks and food while mingling with other members of the 20% Berlin community.
🎤 Rasha Nahas / Wooly Aziz
Thursday 21.05 · 8 pm · HAU 1, Stresemannstraße 29, Kreuzberg · €20-29
The Palestinian musician is presenting new songs from an upcoming album produced by Meshell Ndegeocello. The Ndegeocello connection signals something: Nahas al ready worked across electronic rock, poetic Arabic lyrics, and raw singer-songwriter territory with the clarity of someone who has never needed to explain her influences.
🎈20% Berlin's 495th Birthday Party RSVP required. 7 pm · Geist im Glas, Lenaustraße 27, Neukölln · free Andrew and Maurice record a live podcast episode in the back room, then the party opens up.
🎹 Kiezsalon opening weekend — Schloss Britz
Fri-Sat, 22-23.05 · doors 6:30 pm · Schloss Britz, Alt-Britz 73, Neukölln · €10
Two nights at an 18th-century manor house in Neukölln. Friday brings Belfi & Reidy’s post-rock abstraction, Susannah Stark’s krautrock-folk from Glasgow, and alice does computer music‘s long-form collages.
🎻 Staatsoper für alle Sat 6 pm · Sun 1 pm · Bebelplatz · free Verdi's Nabucco broadcast live at Bebelplatz on Saturday, Beethoven's 6th with Thielemann on Sunday. 20th edition, free, no ticket needed.
🥁 Karneval der Kulturen — 30th Anniversary
Sunday 24.05 · parade 1:30 pm · Frankfurter Allee / Karl-Marx-Allee · festival at Blücherplatz · free
Thirty years and five thousand performers. The parade that turns Neukölln and Kreuzberg into something Berlin rarely is: completely unguarded. Twenty stages, all afternoon. Go without a plan, but our favorite is the Brazilian carnival with the Bloco do Urso (3 pm).
from our partner
🍷Discover more than 100+ wines at Grape Odyssey 🍷
Grape Odyssey returns to Berlin on May 31!
Join us in exploring natural wines from Slovenia and its neighbouring countries: Austria, Italy, Hungary, and Croatia.
Taste 100+ unique wines; sparkling, white, orange, rosé and red. Meet 30+ independent producers and understand their approach and process that makes them stand out.
In addition to tasting wines, we’ll have a bio grill by Piechas (vegan, vegetarian and meat options), local cheeses and regional specialities as well as coffee by Antibarist to help cleanse your palate.
And, of course, there will be live DJs playing throughout the day and night while you work your way through the wines.
Many of our winemakers are not yet represented in Berlin, so don’t miss out on these wines. Join the Odyssey!
Location: Kühlhaus Berlin, Luckenwalder Str. 3
11am trade | 12pm public | 6pm afterparty until 10pm
🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺
🏠 Housing crisis hits newscomers hardest
🎸 Einstürzende Neubauten: Still collapsing
Factoid
No more tears about the weather, please. Berlin is Germany’s sunniest state in terms of hours of sunlight: 2,069 hours in 2025. Unfortunately, the average temperature last year was only 10.7°C.
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