Berlin announces €947 million culture fund to support new clubs and cultural spaces
A budget that sits at more than double for the entirety of England in 2024.
Getty / Hanohiki
Berlin’s Senator for Culture has announced a €947 million culture fund for 2024 in a bid to rejuvenate the city’s arts and nightlife scene, Euronews reports.
The fund, which sees a €13 million increase from this year, will go toward adding 500 cultural spaces including night clubs, venues, museums, and theatres to Berlin’s current 2,000-strong roster, with the goal of doubling the amount of state-owned cultural space by 2030.
Projects that will benefit include the renovation of the Komische Oper, one of Berlin’s biggest opera companies, as well as funds for museums, exhibitions, memorial sites, drama schools and theatres.
According to Euronews, the move is part of an ongoing commitment by the State Minister for Culture and Social Cohesion, Joe Chialo, who has pledged to raise the budget to €1 billion for 2025.
“The crisis that we are fighting now with lots and lots of money will last for a while,” Chialo told Flux FM last month, referencing the threat of inflation and the increasing cost-of-living across Europe. “The club operators can definitely count on my support.”
The announcement has also sparked comparisons between the UK and Germany’s culture fund, with researcher Ruth Hogarth noting that the Berlin budget was over double that for the entirety of England in 2024.
The city of Berlin’s culture budget (population 7m) for 2024 has been set at €947m. The whole of England’s culture budget (population 57m) for 2024 is £458.5m. I know there’s lottery and local authority funding on top, but it doesn’t add up to anything like the per capita spend. https://t.co/YwshmIeKG8
— Ruth Hogarth (@ruthhogarth) July 13, 2023
Earlier this year, the Berlin senate implemented the ‘Jungendkulkarte’, a new initiative giving 18 to 23-year-old Berliners €50 to cover their entrance fees for participating nightclubs, as well as a range of other cultural activities.
