Cultural crisis in Berlin: External analysis should radically cut budgets!

Cultural crisis in Berlin: External analysis should radically cut budgets!

The Berlin cultural scene is facing significant financial cuts, which were initiated by the Senate's austerity budget. In this context, the Senate Cultural Administration is planning to have an external analysis of the state's own stages carried out. Affected institutions are the Volksbühne, the Gorki Theater, the Deutsches Theater, the Theater an der Parkaue and the Konzerthaus. The external service provider should carry out a comprehensive, neutral and methodically sound analysis of the stages in order to identify savings opportunities without having to close existing stages.

The effects of the austerity measures are already being felt. The Berlin Senate is planning savings totaling 130 million euros in the cultural sector for 2025. As tagesschau.de reports, after massive protests, some cuts, such as those for children's and youth theaters, were completely reversed. In addition, the savings for the Deutsches Theater have fallen from the original 3 million euros to 1.588 million euros, while the Schaubühne now only has to save 1 million euros instead of 1.8 million euros.

Massive savings and their consequences

Despite these adjustments, the overall savings framework of 130 million euros remains, and the main staff council of the stages is concerned about the appointment of an external expert. The approximately 2,000 affected employees are unsettled and fear job losses or reduced wages. This raises fears about the future structure of Berlin's theaters, as many fear that the desired savings could bring about massive changes.

The cultural dialogue, which has been taking place since February 2025 between the theater directors, the governing mayor and the state senator for culture, has the aim of rethinking the financing structures of the stages. The senator's wish list includes proposals such as the establishment of a theater foundation or the creation of a common ticket system to make cultural work more efficient, as rbb24.de reports.

Future of culture in Berlin

The cuts are part of a larger Senate austerity program that affects all areas of government. Overall, Berlin's budget is to be cut by around 1.6 billion euros by 2027. Experts fear that these austerity measures will lead to rising ticket prices and reduce the number of premieres in theaters and opera houses. According to rolling-berlin.de, many institutions will have to rely on reserves and one-off effects this year in order to maintain their operations.

In an ongoing debate about austerity measures, representatives of cultural institutions are opposing the planned cuts and expressing their horror. They warn of the negative effects on the diversity and quality of the cultural offerings in Berlin. While the Senate emphasizes that the financial administration's requirements are unavoidable, it remains to be seen what concrete consequences these savings will ultimately have for Berlin's cultural institutions.

You can find further information about the planned cuts and the ongoing protests on the pages of tagesschau.de and rolling-berlin.de.