Berlin, June 26th, 2026 (The Berlin Spectator) – In Berlin and other parts of Germany, dozens of events have been cancelled due to the excessive heat. Temperatures are supposed to hit 35 degrees Centigrade (95 degrees Fahrenheit) today and 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) this weekend. Authorities have asked inhabitants to exercise caution, drink enough and refrain from physical activity outdoors.
Germany’s Interior Ministry cancelled the Civil Protection Day which it had scheduled for Saturday. The Berlin Police Department is dumping a traffic safety event, as it announced in a statement, while the German capital’s Soccer Association says many matches will not be taking place. Important matches are supposed to be postponed or preponed, meaning they will be played in the mornings or evenings in order to make sure the players do not feel like chicken on the grill.
Berlin’s Social Affairs Senator Cansel Kiziltepe announced the opening event of the city’s “Seniors Week” will not be taking place. “Especially elderly people should stay at home in this heat”, she stated. “Their health and physical integrity are my highest priority. I won’t take risks.”
One Big Event
Kiziltepe’s colleague Franziska Giffey, Berlin’s Commerce Senator and former Governing Mayor, cancelled the Berlin Book Fair at Bebelplatz square because of the heat. Giffey said the decision had not been an easy one.
Berlin’s trotting track announced, twelve races that were scheduled for Sunday will take place on Tuesday instead. According to the RBB, the Christopher Street Day parade in Barnim in Brandenburg is cancelled. So are many events that were going to take place in the neighboring federal state.
Even a group hostile to Israel cancelled an event. In all seriousness, they were going to “Fly Kites for Palestine”, even though (or because) the terror organization Hamas has used burning kites to cause wild fires in Israel and in spite of the fact that Palestinian terrorists used motorized kites to invade the Nova festival in Israel on October 7th, 2023. They murdered 378 at the festival alone and raped many of them beforehand.
One big event will take place in spite of the scorching heat. The Berliner Philharmoniker will be performing its final concert of the season at the Waldbühne, an open air venue. Measures designed to protect the instrumentalists, their instruments and the audience are being implemented.
