Tempelhof Airport

When Berlin’s Tempelhof airport closed in October of last year, nobody knew exactly what would become of it. In fact, in the long run, that is still that case. But in the meantime, it’s a great venue for Berlin’s music festival…

Once the largest airport in the world, Tempelhof saw celebrities including Marlene Dietrich and The Beatles filter through its terminal buildings. Now – since the closure of the airport last year – the central airport is an empty shell; and an expensive one at that. The upkeep of the building is reportedly costing millions, being constantly heated and guarded.

So what next for the expensive ex-airport? The question is still largely up in the air, although it is evident that the music brains of Berlin came together this August when they created a truly memorable re-opening; making Tempelhof the host to the Berlin Festival.

On Friday 7th and Saturday 8th August, Tempelhof’s departure doors opened for the masses once more ushering in a range of international acts across four stages. While the press received their VIP passes at the check-in desks on Friday, festival goers herded through towards the boards, listing not their flight details, but the scheduled acts performing just a few paces away at the gates.

Doherty and his trilby on stage

After capturing some photographic memories on the baggage carousel (and being swiftly moved on by security), crowds descended to ‘Second Stage’ where Frankmusik opened. The atmosphere didn’t really pick up until around 9pm in the run-up to Junior Boys’ flawless, if slightly lacklustre, performance after which hundreds filtered into the aeroplane hangar for Pete Doherty on the Main Stage.

Taking to the make-shift arena in his trademark Trilby, acoustic guitar and accompanied by random ballet dancers, Doherty wowed his fans with an entertaining set of crowd-pleasers. While offering up new solo pieces, the loveable rogue got the crowd going with modern classics from Babyshambles and The Libertines. Only once was Doherty forced to halt his performance when a book on tantric sex was thrown on stage, amongst an already knicker strewn covered platform. Could Pete really be the next Tom Jones?

Saturday saw the doors open an hour earlier at 3pm, to a much larger audience and an altogether more impressive Main Stage. The Rifles kicked off at 7.30pm, followed by the legendary Zoot Woman and an enormously energetic (and now surely, fairly old) Jarvis Cocker. Despite avoiding playing his Pulp classics, Cocker was one of the better performers of the night and managed to fill the hangar with sweaty fans…Or were these people there for the next act?

German band Deichkind undoubtedly had the biggest fan base of the entire festival. Their insane performance incorporated hi-vis, animal masks, sexual simulation, and a LOT of jumping around in a manic fashion. The unforgettable moment of the evening occurred when the crowd were ordered, by Deichkind, to crouch on the floor. Astonishingly enough, everyone complied.

Many flocked to go and see Joe Goddard’s (of Hot Chip fame) DJ set on Second Stage at 1.30am, only to discover that they had perhaps been swayed by the mention of ‘Hot Chip’ rather than Goddard himself who failed to keep the stage alive with mixes that were unfamiliar and upsettingly dull. Murmurings of ‘is he even on yet?’ circulated until some got bored and wondered off for a bratwurst.

The Digitalism boys

Those who didn’t fancy venturing off for the typically Deutsch snack, had plenty more to choose from. Berlin restaurant and club White Trash was on site dishing out tasty burgers, while the crepe stand had hundreds of tubs of Nutella for the drunken sweet-tooth. For those not after food (or another Jaeger Bomb), Table Football and Ping Pong could be played near the two inside stages at the Club Berlin and Airbase One Floor. To escape the enormous crowds, others resorted to the Mobile Disko located just in front of an old aeroplane which was spectacularly lit up by the lasers flickering across the sky.

Closing the main stage was German duo Digitalism, who kept their audience enthralled for their entire two hour set. Mixing commercial tunes such as Mr Oizo’s ‘Flat Beat’ and Gossip’s ‘Standing in the Way of Control’ among less established mixes, meant that Digitalism catered for a range of tastes, keeping the room pumping until 4am.   The weekend of partying didn’t end until midday  on Sunday, with DJs including Steve Morell and Robin Van Der Karr on Club Berlin Floor and Mobile Disko. Others that didn’t quite last the duration crashed out on the concrete floor as the sun rose, beginning the hot summer’s Sunday.

Despite its lack of  camping facilities, the first Berlin Festival at Tempelhof was a huge success and Tempelhof has proved to be a great – and novel – venue for big and costly events such as this. Let’s hope for more of its kind in the future.

www.berlinfestival.de