The Werkstatt der Kulturen was founded in October 1993 in
Neukölln, Berlin, patronised by the
Berlin Senate. The first Karneval der Kulturen took place on 15 and 16 May 1996 around
Ascension Thursday. It was inspired by other European carnivals such as the
Notting Hill Carnival in London and the
Zomercarnaval in
Rotterdam. The Karneval der Kulturen then grew to a four-day festival with numerous musical and theatrical performances. The number of visitors grew from 50,000 in 1996 to 300,000 in 1997, 1 million in 2000, to more than one million in 2018. The number of participants also grew from 2,200 to more than 4,000, organised into 66 procession groups (2018). The 2020 edition of Karneval der Kulturen, originally scheduled for the weekend of 31 May, was canceled due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic. == References ==