#332: US election night, sparrows, Hell's Angels, S-Bahn mess
The Berlinale ditches Elon
Dear 20 Percent,
I know, you’re probably more focused on the nail-biter on the other side of the Atlantic than the local news we compile here in the 20% Newsroom. And so today, we start with a few places to experience US election night in Berlin.
The pickings are bafflingly slim. It seems like bars could cash in big time on a global event like this. Or am I missing some watch parties? Let me know in the comments.
U.S. Election Night with Democrats Abroad. Spend all night with the Dems in a classic Berlin venue, Babylon cinema in Mitte. Expect music and comedians.
U.S. Election @donau is brat. Coverage at this Neukölln bar starts at 11:45pm - and continues till “when we know who the winner is and/or when we pass out from anxiety.”
US Election Night at JFKI - watch event at the cafeteria of the John F. Kennedy Institute at FU.
Berlin news below!
Maurice
P.S. Andrew will be weighing in on the election auf Deutsch tonight at 10.50pm on Die Zeit’s livestream here. They want him to compare swing states to German states. Unfortunately there is but one Saxony-Anhalt.
P.P.S We’re grateful for the continued support of Feather, your digital insurance companion for Germany. More from Feather below!
Activists hit Adlon
Climate activists stormed the luxury Hotel Adlon near the Brandenburg Gate early Monday. Six activists from Letzten Generation and Ende Gelände poured paint into the "Elephant Fountain" in the foyer and hung a banner from a window that read “Frack You” in reference to a fracking conference scheduled at the hotel for mid-December. Police charged the six activists with trespassing.
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When: 10 Nov (Sun) / 11:00-13:00
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New home for stadium sparrows?
The demolition of the Jahn-Sportpark stadium in Prenzlauer Berg has been paused, following a court ruling on Monday. A lawsuit filed by an enivronmentalist organisation says the stadium and neighbouring out-buildings are home to 94 sparrow breeding sites — and planned measures to rehouse the birds are inadequate. Demolition has been delayed till at least February 25, 2025. The entire Jahn-Sportpark is being rebuilt with a modern, larger stadium and new football, tennis and beach volleyball facilities. A separate citizens initiative opposes the plans because it would reduce the number of trees in the park.
Hell-bound angel
Frank Weber, Kreuzberg native and co-founder of the first Berlin Hells Angels, has died at 66. Hells Angels travelled from across Europe and the United States to attend his memorial at Richardplatz in Neukölln. Following the service, a motorcade led by a trike transporting Weber’s ashes, and including a bunch of Harleys and cop cars proceeded to the Matthäus-Kirchhof cemetery in Schöneberg where several other Angels are buried. The “Hells Angels MC Berlin Central” chapter was actually verboten in 2022 because of “criminal activities” but the police didn’t interfere with the funeral proceedings.
Berlinale dumps X
The Berlin film festival is leaving Elon Musk’s social media platform at the end of the year. The fest told The Hollywood Reporter: “After monitoring and evaluating platform X, we have come to the conclusion to focus on other social media channels.” No reason given, but the director of the Venice film festival Alberto Barbero put it clearly enough earlier this year. He “definitely lost the desire (already weakened) to remain on a platform, the objectives and purposes of which I no longer share.”
Events this week, supported by The Next Day Berlin:
🎹 eavesdrop festival
Wed-Thu, 06-07.11, 8 pm. Silent Green, Gerichtstrasse 35, Wedding. Tickets: €17.17/Day ticket or €33.90/festival pass.
The 🎧 ‘eavesdrop festival’ offers two days of experimental electronic music, with artists exploring everything from turntablism and analog synthesizers to AI voice synthesis. It’s a mix of innovative sounds, blending vocal techniques, and sound installations that showcase the future of electronic music. 🎧 Audrey Chen
🖼️Andrea Pichl: Values of Economy
Opening: Thursday, 07.11, 7 pm. Exhibition until 04.05.25. Hamburger Bahnhof, Invalidenstrasse 50, 10557 Berlin.
Andrea Pichl’s exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof explores post-1989 East-West German transitions through an architectural installation. By recontextualizing everyday, mass-produced items, Pichl questions power dynamics, public vs. private space, and how utopias can become dystopias, echoing themes of Joseph Beuys.
🎶Cantata Ayabás by Andrea Botelho with Chora Berlin Choir
Saturday, 09.11, 7 pm; Sunday, 10.11, 4 pm. Schloss Britz, Alt-Britz 81, Neukölln. Ticket: €10/15.
'Cantata Ayabás' is a musical work that mixes elements of classical music with Afro-Brazilian traditions. Composed by Andréa Huguenin Botelho, the cantata is dedicated to the Ayabás, the goddesses of Candomblé, and is performed by a female choir and orchestra, deeply honoring Afro-Brazilian heritage.
🎞️We’re All Going to Die Tuesday, 12.11, 8 pm, Z-inema, Bergstr. 2, Mitte A few years ago, I helped produce my friend Ben Knight’s documentary on our anxiety surrounding the coming collapse of the world as we know it, “We’re All Going to Die”. It’s now showing in cinemas across Germany — and next Tuesday, we’re putting on a special screening with the director. I’ll be there, too.
🥨Germany-wide news🥨
🚦Gov. coalition in crisis mode
🏭Is Germany’s business model broken?
☁️Is Germany falling into Microsoft’s “golden trap”?
Factoid
According to the Glücksatlas (Happiness Atlas) Germans got a lot happier last year, reflecting a rebound after the pandemic! The survey examines areas such as family, work, health and household income. Unfortunately, Berliners (happiness score: 6.63) were found to be unhappier than the German average (7.06). We also scored 15th out of 16 Bundesländer. Apparently, folks are happier out in the ‘burbs (“Speckgürtel” or “bacon belt”) but you couldn’t pay me to live there.
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What “criminal activities” were the “Hells Angels MC Berlin Central” chapter actually verboten in 2022 because of?
BTW I watched the election at the Baden-Württemberg Landesvertretung and it was pretty freaky. Wish I'd kept up with you guys and gone to Babylon.