The associations at Berlin's Stadtfest
Every summer, the Lesbisch-schwules Stadtfest brings hundreds of thousands of visitors together around Nollendorfplatz in Schöneberg. Berlin's queer associations hold information stands there. BleuBlancRose likes to be seen there, and you can meet many other associations.
The Stadtfest in brief
- First edition in 1993, around Motzstraße, on the initiative of bar owners who formed a working group that became the organising association, the Regenbogenfonds der schwulen Wirte e.V.
- 32nd edition on 18 and 19 July 2026, in the Regenbogenkiez, over two days.
- According to the organisers: several stages and more than 400 information or commercial stands; according to the local press, more than 80 projects, associations and community initiatives.
- Official site: stadtfest.berlin.
Associations in the 2024 programme
The list changes from year to year; this one comes from the official programme of the 2024 edition and is not exhaustive. Below, in alphabetical order, is a presentation of each association whose description we could check on its own pages or in public sources. Addresses and opening hours can change: check their website before you go.
Berliner Aids-Hilfe. Advice and prevention organisation on HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. It advises people living with HIV, helps with health, psychological, administrative and work-related problems, offers an anonymous rapid HIV test and runs information campaigns. It is very visible every 1 December, World AIDS Day, when its volunteers collect donations in the streets. It is based at Kurfürstenstraße 130.
Förderverein Teddy. Association that financially supports the Teddy Award, the queer film prize given every year during the Berlinale (the prize has existed since 1987). Founded in 1997, it funds the prize money, supports other lesbian and gay film projects and promotes the award in Germany and abroad. It is a registered charity and its board is made up of volunteers.
GLADT. Self-organisation of Black people and people of colour (BIPoC) who are lesbian, gay, bi, trans*, inter* or queer, which grew out of the Türkgay group formed at the end of the 1990s. It fights racism, sexism, trans- and homophobia and ableism, with a focus on multiple discrimination. It offers psychosocial support and advice in several languages (including German, English, Turkish, Farsi and French), workshops and a healthcare directory.
Hilfe für Jungs. Association that runs the Subway project, a drop-in place for boys and men working in sex work. It offers advice, support and testing for sexually transmitted infections.
Ibn Rushd-Goethe Moschee. Liberal mosque opened in 2017 on the initiative of the lawyer Seyran Ateş, where women and men pray together and LGBTQ+ people are welcome. An openly gay imam led Friday prayers there in 2017. In October 2023 the mosque announced it was closing after threats of attacks; check its current situation.
Kirche positHIV. Ecumenical, Protestant and Catholic initiative accompanying people affected by AIDS. Started in 1993 at the Am Lietzensee church in Charlottenburg with a book of remembrance for people who died of AIDS, it offered conversations, services, outings and counselling to sick people, their relatives and friends. In 2020 its founders announced the end of this work, hoping the Church would continue to engage on HIV in Berlin.
Lebensort Vielfalt. Housing project of the Schwulenberatung Berlin where people of several generations, gay, lesbian and others, live together. The first site, Niebuhrstraße 59/60 in Charlottenburg, dates from 2012; it includes a care flat-share for gay men who need care or live with dementia, a café and an event space. Other sites have followed, notably at Ostkreuz and Südkreuz. The waiting list is long.
Lesbenberatung. Counselling service for lesbians, bi and trans women, and more broadly queer people, at Kulmer Straße 20A. It offers one-to-one sessions in a crisis or for lighter questions, groups (coming out, relationships), support for women with a migration background, workshops, a weekly open meetup and a free lending library.
LSVD Berlin-Brandenburg. Regional branch of the Lesben- und Schwulenverband, a large rights organisation for LGBTIQ* people. It works on awareness-raising, rainbow families, migration and flight, offers legal advice and campaigns for equal rights.
man*check. HIV prevention project of the Schwulenberatung Berlin, aimed at men who have sex with men. It offers information, counselling and testing.
MANEO. Anti-gay-violence project founded in 1990 and run by Mann-O-Meter, which operates the hotline for victims of homophobic attacks. It offers victim support, recording of violent incidents, prevention and empowerment. According to the association, its 1993 action against violence led to Berlin’s first lesbian and gay city festival. Every year it awards the Tolerantia Prize. Bülowstraße 106.
Mann-O-Meter. Gay information and counselling centre, open since 1986 and nicknamed Berlin’s “gay checkpoint”. You will find information about the scene, counselling (coming out, loneliness, ageing, discrimination, legal questions), anonymous HIV and STI tests, leisure and self-help groups, and a café. It is also home to MANEO. Bülowstraße 106.
Orden der Perpetuellen Indulgenz. German branch of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a movement born in San Francisco in 1979: activists in nun’s habits and white face paint who say they spread “universal joy” as volunteers. They collect money for people affected by HIV, hand out condoms, offer a listening ear and blessings, visit the sick and support homeless people. The Berlin house is Sankta Melitta Iuvenis.
Quarteera. Association for Russian-speaking LGBTQ+ people in Germany, described as the first nationwide association of Russian-speaking LGBTQ+ migrants. Since 2011 it has worked on visibility, against multiple discrimination, on migration support and counselling. It is behind Marzahn Pride, the first pride march of the Russian-speaking community in Marzahn.
Schwulenberatung Berlin. One of the city’s oldest gay centres, in Charlottenburg. It advises gay and bi men, trans* and inter* people, people living with HIV and their relatives, with a team of doctors, educators, psychologists, social workers and volunteers, in several languages. Its offers range from group counselling to everyday help, support for queer refugees, anti-violence counselling for TIN* people, Housing First Queer, child and youth services and a specialist unit on ageing and care. It also runs Lebensort Vielfalt.
Schwules Museum. Founded in 1985 by an association of friends, it is considered the first museum in the world devoted to gay history. It holds periodical archives going back to 1896, photographs, films, sound recordings, artworks and objects, and a library of about 20,000 books. Since 2013 it has been at Lützowstraße 73, in a former printing works. The supporting association gives its members free entry to the exhibitions.
Side by Side. International LGBT film festival born in Saint Petersburg in 2008 under the slogan “Different love, equal rights”. It was supported by the Berlinale, received one of its awards for its role in the Russian LGBT movement, and its founder Manny de Guerre sat on the Teddy Award jury. Since the Russian Supreme Court designated the “international LGBT movement” extremist in 2023, its situation has been very difficult; ask them about their current activities.
Sonntags-Club. Community centre for LGBTQ+ people, their families, friends and allies, at Greifenhagener Straße 28 in Prenzlauer Berg. It grew out of the Homosexuelle Interessengemeinschaft Berlin and was the first secular gay and lesbian group in the GDR; it met on Sundays, hence the name. It gained official status after reunification (sources give 1986 or 1987 for its foundation). Today it offers individual and group counselling, legal advice, a café, and concerts, screenings and debates. It runs mostly on volunteers.
Tauwetter. Contact point for men who experienced sexualised violence in childhood or adolescence. It is listed by the help portal of the Independent Federal Commissioner against Child Sexual Abuse.
The Aguda. Association for LGBTQ equality in Israel, founded in 1975 and based in Tel Aviv, run by volunteers. It operates a support hotline, legal aid, a centre for reporting anti-LGBTQ violence, a psychological consultation clinic and a project for LGBTQ refugees.
Vorspiel. Berlin’s queer sports club, founded on 11 November 1986 and open to young and old. It offers 40 sports in five families: ball and racket sports, water, combat and relaxation, strength and fitness, dance and health, from women’s volleyball to gay football, from swimming to tai chi. It turns 40 in 2026. More details, all the sports and membership.
ZIK. Non-profit company offering supported housing and psychosocial help to people living with HIV, AIDS or other chronic illnesses, sometimes also affected by addiction or mental health problems. It offers shared flats, individual supported apartments, light-touch support, culturally sensitive counselling for migrants, activities (a day centre, a café-restaurant) and a nursing team.
Other associations in the programme
We could not check a reliable description of these, and we would rather say nothing than say something wrong: AndersArtig e.V., Deutsche Kinderaidshilfe e.V., gay-web e.V., Hiv e.V., Initiative « Der homosexuellen NS-Opfer gedenken », KomBi, OstEnde e.V., Romeo & Julius, Trialoge. Do you know them? Write to us.
The Stadtfest site also lists, among its information points, Radio QueerLive, BiNe / BiBerlin, Mann-O-Meter / MANEO, the Sonntags-Club and the LSVD Berlin-Brandenburg.
An association is missing, has changed its name or no longer exists? Write to us. See also: our friendly associations, the timeline and the places and people.
Associations Day
Every year, the French, French-speaking and Franco-German associations of Berlin meet at the Lycée français de Berlin for a day of encounters. The latest edition took place on 26 September 2026; BleuBlancRose held a stand there. The 2026 edition's website lists the participating associations.
Do you run a friendly association and want to be listed here? Write to us.