Rainbow Festival
About This Event
This is a real event, but it is not a community Pride. The Rainbow Festival is a ticketed, commercial open-air concert on the Regattainsel at Fühlinger See in Cologne's north, promoted by Markus Krampe. It runs for one day on two stages. The Sunshine Stage has pop and Schlager acts, and the Aqua Stage has EDM and house. Tickets started at around 63 to 69 euros, and entry is 16+. CSD Köln, which runs the actual Pride parade, does not organize it.
The first edition was on Saturday 28 June 2025, a week before Cologne's CSD weekend. Olivia Jones hosted, and the organizers counted about 22,000 visitors. That year the booking of the Village People was controversial because they had performed at Donald Trump's inauguration, and CSD Köln publicly distanced itself from the festival. Some of the crowd booed during their set, and the organizers said they could not get out of the contract.
The second edition was on Saturday 27 June 2026, with No Angels, Boney M., Vengaboys and Felix Jaehn on the bill. The organizers had expected up to 30,000 people, but we found no figure for actual attendance. If you want Cologne's queer core, go to the CSD itself. Treat this as a big outdoor pop-and-Schlager party in the run-up to Pride.
The 2027 date hadn't been announced when we checked.
Where to stay during Rainbow Festival
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