Last chance: Britney X Festival in Cologne inspires with diversity!

Last chance: Britney X Festival in Cologne inspires with diversity!

The Carlswerk in Cologne was the venue for the 8th and presumably last Britney X Festival on June 8th, 2025. Over 2,000 tickets were sold and attracted a diverse, young audience who heated up the atmosphere in glittering outfits. Intendant Kay Voges canceled the festival, which is considered a queer-feminist pre-summer event, which caused mixed feelings among many guests. The festival, which has dealt with topics such as feminism, gender, diversity and sexuality since its founding in 2017, is taking place this year under the motto “Where is the love” and thus draws an emotional conclusion to a remarkable series of events.

The focus of the festival continues to be on the critical examination of the pop phenomenon Britney Spears and the current social issues associated with it. In addition to the pop culture aspects, the program also addresses the problems of the binary gender system and actively campaigns against harmful structures in society. Even if the original number of ticket sales seemed modest and was only 150, the current success shows that the festival has found a loyal fan base over the years that is committed to solidarity interaction and raising awareness [Nachtkritik] reports that...

A diverse program

The festival offers a comprehensive program ranging from wild herb walks and relationship guides to concerts and debates. This year there were two particularly impressive performances on the program:

• „Der Raum und das Meer“: Eine autofiktionale Erzählung von Vincent Eswald, die unter der Regie von David Vogel zur Uraufführung kam. Die Performance thematisiert Identität und Selbstverleugnung, und sorgte für emotionale Reaktionen im Publikum – unter anderem für Tränen und Standing Ovations. Der Schauspieler David Rothe spielte die zentrale Rolle der Inszenierung.
• „Bucci x Paranoia“: Ein Stück von Lynn T Musiol und Marcus Peter Tesch, das in 1 Stunde und 15 Minuten Stand-Up-Elemente und Identitätsdiskurse im Queer-Leben vermittelt. Hier wurde das Spiel mit dem Thema Paranoia auf eine unterhaltsame und nachdenkliche Weise beleuchtet.

Both performances were presented without an intermission, allowing the audience continuous emotional access. Through its commitment to diversity and social inclusion, the festival remains particularly relevant at a time when struggles over identity, gender and sexual discrimination are still high.

The legacy of the festival

In the past, the festival has had mottos that are strongly anchored in cultural memory, such as “It’s Britney, Bitch!” or “There’s a lust we can’t control.” The reason for the cancellation of the festival remains unclear. However, organizers hope to find a new home for the initiative that continues to preserve the diversity of human experience and create space for cultural exploration.

The feminist movement, also characterized by intersectional approaches, aims to combat discrimination and promote equality for all genders. These perspectives also find their place in the festival, which invites people to critically examine personal and social identities. Including artists from different countries and creating a dialogue on inclusion shows that the festival goes beyond pure entertainment value and provides an important forum for discussion [Cologne Tourism] reports that….

The Britney X Festival will certainly be remembered as an important part of Cologne's cultural scene. The cultural and social debate remains of great importance even after the end of the festival and lays the foundation for future initiatives and events in the region.