Statement regarding the cancellation of the event VOLKSBAD x EOTO on 14 August 2026
Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz and the organisation Each One Teach One (EOTO) have cancelled the VOLKSBAD x EOTO event slated for Friday, 14 August 2026. This decision has been taken due to safety concerns, following reports that the outing for Black children and young people offering them an exclusive afternoon at VOLKSBAD has become a target of far-right and racist agitation.
„We will continue to provide positive measures for people facing structural discrimination. That's part of the responsibility public institutions are meant to fulfil. We stand in solidarity – today and every day – with all those who are targeted by racism and rightwing hostility” – Matthias Lilienthal, artistic director of the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
The safety of our guests, partners and staff is our top priority. We have therefore decided to cancel the joint event with EOTO e. V. scheduled for 14 August, because we cannot guarantee safe arrival and departure for registered visitors, nor can we ensure a relaxed environment for our guests.
We obviously underestimated the fact that offering something which is taken for granted at other public pools – i.e., group-specific activities to use pool exclusively for older people, non-swimmers, children and young people, regularly organised by various clubs – would, in the case of our joint event with EOTO e. V., lead to a national wave of anti-Black racism, hostility and threats.
Our invitation to EOTO e. V. to curate a holiday programme for Black children and young people over the course of one afternoon – as part of a positive action initiative to support structurally disadvantaged groups – seems only natural for an institution such as the Volksbühne theatre. It is based on the commitment to proactively break down existing access barriers and is in line with international human rights standards, the applicable provisions of federal state law and the special responsibility of public cultural institutions in Berlin.
Doris Liebscher, head of the ombuds office for the Berlin State Anti-Discrimination Act (LADG) at the Senate Department for Labour, Social Services, Gender Equality, Integration, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination, confirms: “According to section 5(2) LADG, unequal treatment is justified where appropriate and suitable measures are taken to prevent or compensate for existing disadvantages of structurally disadvantaged persons (positive measures). The regulations implement international and European law. In this context, positive measures – such as those in this case with a limited duration – aimed at structurally disadvantaged groups, such as women, queer people, older people, migrants, socially vulnerable young people or Black people, do not qualify as discrimination.”
The artistic project VOLKSBAD am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, organised by the Volksbühne from 7 August to 1 October, addresses the issue of provision of public services and, accordingly, issues of social exclusion, instances of discrimination and differences in access to public spaces. In this context, we decided to make the VOLKSBAD pool available to various social organisations and associations at specially reserved times.
What makes the VOLKSBAD a VOLKSBAD – a place for the people? This is the central question for which VOLKSBAD opens up a space for public debate by planning further event formats. As a public theatre, the Volksbühne will, of course, continue the collaboration with EOTO e. V. and other social organisations and associations.
Our thanks go to our partners and to everyone who supports our work and causes in a spirit of solidarity and critical engagement.