Düsseldorf Festival! 2027
The Düsseldorf Festival is a colourful playground; it invites you to approach art in a playful way. It is an open space. And a place to savour the senses and satisfy your curiosity.
Düsseldorf Festival, the festival for the performing arts in the fields of theatre, music, contemporary circus and dance. The wide-ranging programme is primarily dedicated to arts that transcend genres and styles. Established in the early 1990s as the ‘Altstadtherbst Kulturfestival’, the festival saw itself as an alternative to the traditional, genre-specific programming of the city’s public theatres and the conventional concert scene. At the festival centre on Burgplatz – the large theatre tent – a top-class international programme continues to be staged to this day, with a reach extending far into the region.
Our large white theatre tent stands on Burgplatz, right by the Rhine. It is the heart of the festival. This is where dance, contemporary circus, theatre and music from all over the world take place; this is where the lifeblood of the festival pulses. This is where the entire festival team works. Technicians and stagehands, riggers, lighting and sound engineers. Ticketing, production, and the canteen crew – comprising a large number of volunteers from Düsseldorf. The tent is a meeting place for audiences, artists and staff. In a container village built especially for this purpose, everyone who helps make the festival happen lives and works here for six weeks. Our red retro bar also serves as our foyer; this is where the audience and sponsors meet for a drink together before and after the performances.
Alongside the large international stage in the theatre tent, the Düsseldorf Festival spills out into the city every year, filling smaller venues – some of which are not usually accessible to the cultural sector – with music.
The two artistic directors, Christiane Oxenfort and Andreas Dahmen, have been responsible for the programme as artistic directors since the festival’s foundation in 1991; since 1996, they have also been responsible for the overall management as managing partners of the non-profit Festival GmbH. Originally musicians and internationally successful with their ViF Flute Quartet, they have made a commitment to experimentation and openness to new trends, whilst maintaining a high artistic standard. (Source: Düsseldorf Festival gGmbH)