Donnern-Festival 2026: Wir brauchen Platz

Donnern Festival 2026 in Cologne-Mülheim (at "Raum für alle")

On Friday, September 18, 2026, and Saturday, September 19, 2026, DONNERN invites you to the Donnern Festival 2026 at Raum für alle in Cologne-Mülheim. Under the theme “We Need Space,” this year we’ll be addressing issues and struggles surrounding different spaces. Our festival is free, but we welcome donations!

Just stop by the program events that interest you! 

TIMETABLE

Friday
The festival kicks off on Friday with the Studiobühne performers presenting the staged reading “Die Lücke 3.0,” which explores the 2004 nail bomb attack on Keupstraße and the spaces dedicated to remembrance and commemoration. Afterward, everyone will have the opportunity to take part in a guided tour of Keupstraße.

Afterward, there will be a book booth featuring exciting reads from the Kalker Buchladen, drinks, and a chance to relax to the music of Alphabet and Berivan Kaya.

Saturday
On Saturday afternoon, we’ll kick off the second day with the live podcast “Queere Fete,” in which we’ll focus on the digital space. What does the motto “We Need Space” mean in relation to digital spaces and tools? Afterward, we’ll offer the guided tour of Keupstraße from Friday evening once again.

Following that, we’ll delve into the topic of “Housing in Cologne” with a panel discussion: Cologne is the most expensive city in North Rhine-Westphalia. In just under 15 years, rents here have risen by over 72 percent. But Cologne is also a hotspot of resistance against the rent crisis. Various initiatives are fighting against exorbitant rents, advocating for a nationwide rent cap, and pushing for new affordable housing and democratic, solidarity-based forms of housing. In our panel discussion, we’ll exchange ideas on how Cologne can become a model for good housing for everyone.

Participants: 

• Sonja Waszerka, spokesperson for the ver.di Unemployed Workers’ Committee in Cologne-Bonn-Leverkusen
• Frank Xaver-Corneth, Chair of the Cologne Tenants’ Association
• Momo Eich, Executive Director of The Left faction in the Cologne City Council
• Kalle Gerigk, Right to the City

Moderator: Lotta Markert, Rent Campaign, Die Linke

At 8 p.m., Mithu Sanyal will present her new book *No—Against the Militarization of the Present* in conversation with Thomas Gesterkamp, and we’ll ask ourselves: How are our cities actually changing against the backdrop of increasing militarization? Which spaces are being taken over, exploited, or rendered invisible as a result? And what can be done about it? The discussion will be interpreted by DGS.

From 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., our “Market of Opportunities” will take place, where you can get to know various organizations and initiatives from Cologne. This year’s participants include: @Sea-Eye, @Refugee Law Clinic Cologne, @agisra e.V., @AfD-Verbot.jetzt, @PAQT Köln, @Kalker Buchladen, @Dozierende gegen Rechts, @Elsa Breit

To wrap things up, there will be music by @Microphone Mafia and @Midani. With drinks and food available, we invite you to stay, relax, chat, and discuss. There will be seating areas, table tennis, and lots of wonderful people!
 

Our festival is financially supported by the Cologne Partnership for Democracy (as part of the federal program “Demokratie leben!”, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth), the Otto Brenner Foundation, and the Movement Hub.