Back Out in Public: Live from Berlin’s Event Scene

One of the perks of being a global influencer marketing agency is our ability to readily compare landscapes of the different cultural hubs where we’re stationed around the world. In times like right now, this means that we get an inside look at how different cities are managing reopening. While L.A. and New York are still in fight and recovery mode, other places have begun to see the reformation of their public social spheres. With insight into the successes and shortcomings of managing an event whilst managing COVID, we can begin to imagine what the future holds for being out in public again.

We’ve deployed Doug, our Berlin event-based cultural correspondent, to report about the reopening of Berlin and reflect upon how the social scene has pivoted to COVID-19. As spaces begin to reopen their doors, how do they remain impactful following such a desensitizing year? How is the public forming around sites of cultural exchange? What’s the general vibe of social interaction nowadays? With these questions in mind, we’ll give you the laydown on Berlin right now to help inform how events could look like in the United States.

Berlin: A Case Study
Morgen! I’m @dougschow and I’m here to give you a lil virtual tour through what’s going on in the idiosyncratic world that is Germany’s capital. It’s a precarious situation that’s always subject to change, but society is opening up more and more with each bit of encouraging information coming out. After locking down in March and April, the city began the first stages of reopening in early May, with masks required anytime indoors. The number of current cases has remained around 200,000, and it’s quite common to see large groups on the street. Today, most industries in the event sector are up and running in some capacity alongside social distance guidelines, with indoor events capped at 500 people and outdoor at 1000. Some events feel super specific to Berlin–such as that viral photo of the naked man chasing the wild boars in Teufelssee­–but most new developments seem to reflect pretty universal human desires for inspiration and connection.

One clear insight is that people are hungry for things to do. The excitement of post-isolation socialization coupled with fewer opportunities to do so means that events hit capacity quickly. Event marketing has never been super big in Berlin, but it’s even less so nowadays, as organizers rely on word-of-mouth and well-designed social media flyers to raise awareness. For events like art shows and DJ sets, this has only ramped up feelings of exclusivity. There’s a heavy emphasis on already-established networks, meaning that the most successful events rely on and work with the creative circles putting on the Berlin event. Quarantine has revitalized the importance of locality, and post-quarantine events are tapping into this sensibility.

Lots of social activity is happening outdoors, both as a precautionary safety measure and to make the most of the summer weather. Hosting outside has encouraged a spirit of repurposing space, with organizers converting already-in-use venues for new means. A popular tactic in Berlin, multipurpose spaces have reinvigorated organized events with fresh energy, such as movie screenings in city plazas, drag shows in former airport grounds, and orchestra concerts on the street. Not all of these are successful, due to attendees more easily wandering off, discriminative police monitoring, or typical weather dilemmas. Despite the drawbacks, organizers continue to find new hosting in pursuit of reimagining what’s tried-and-true.

One of the most visible shifts in Berlin has been in the art sector, as museums and galleries have embraced bold, expressive, tactile work. This shift towards color and texture has been a joyous welcome to the usually subdued and minimalist landscape, indicative of the public’s interest in work that is fun and uplifting, rather than challenging and conceptual. A prominent example of this is Katharine Grosse’s installation at Hamburger Bahnhof, which features airbrush paint on jutting structures spilling out of the museum’s classical architectural space. This installation work has been immensely popular and infectiously Instagrammable, speaking to the growing demand for inspiring spaces and shared public experience.

Established institutions are seeking new ways of using their spaces, most notably in nightlife. The club ://about blank has regularly hosted a socially distant champagne garden with live music and a strict no-dancing policy. This month, the club Traumabar und Kino held a yoga session and food fair, while Berghain hosted a soundscape installation. Although popular, these events failed to inspire audiences, likely for lacking enough inventive content in such grand spaces associated with great parties–at less than half-capacity, to top it off. However, Berghain is planning a group art show with Olafur Eliasson, Wolfgang Tillmans, and 60 other artists throughout the entire club, which will hopefully live up to their legendary reputation.

With that said, parties are beginning to happen once again. This is Berlin we’re talking about. It’s a rocky start so far: long lines (normal), lower volumes (very abnormal), and mask enforcement is pretty inconsistent across venues. There’s a definite learning curve, but some of the quickest to adapt have been newer additions to the scene, such as Oxi Garten, who has crafted their entire venue around the concept of social distancing. It’s a delicate dance to balance feelings of safety as well as fun and freedom, but the best efforts come from allotting enough space for the dance floor, providing lots of air circulation, and getting creative with the interior decorations.

As Berlin event social calendar gets fuller and closer to pre-COVID levels, the marker of an event’s success becomes less about offering something to do and more about something fresh and new. Our world has changed. The public is more outspoken and opinionated, and event planning should reflect these shifts in attitudes. This could mean exploring new ways of gathering, such as Isabel Lewis’s multisensory theory of “radical receptivity,” or it could be by addressing the radicalized politicization of the public, reflected in the countless protests for Black Lives Matter, anti-racism, or anti-gentrification over the last few months. In a world after COVID, the events that’ll be memorable will be the ones that reveal to us something about our new psyches.

Looking for a deeper look at the current scene in Berlin? Wondering how to envision a meaningful event in a world post-quarantine? Hit us up!

Bis gleich, Doug