panel stage
As firmly anchored as the Wortbühne has become in the Immergut, we expect you to have long since set all available alarms and alarms to be at the market square - sleepy but on time - when we ring in the day with gossip, jokes and a gentle bit of arguing.
Friday, May 29 & Saturday, May 30
11:30–12:30 each day
A morning at a festival can be quite demanding. The night was either too cold or too hot, most of the time too short, a refreshing shower is urgently needed, the camp looks a bit messy, and a look in the mirror brings similar thoughts to mind.
It helps to collect yourself, to get organized inwardly and outwardly, in order to start the day calmly and relaxed. So why don’t we all do that together? At the “Immerguten Frühstücksrunde” (Always-Good Breakfast Round), we’ll bring you up to date on Friday and Saturday. Whether it’s the weather, the latest developments in the lineup, hot gossip from the night before, or trending TikTok topics you may have missed in the last 24 hours.
Together with artists such as Die Höchste Eisenbahn, Kapa Tult, and Caro and Miguel from too many tabs, the immergutrocken e.V., and other people close to our hearts who make this festival what it is, as well as of course you, the guests, we will spend one hour talking about what is to come and what has been—charmingly hosted, as always, by our reunited early-bird moderation duo Uli and Sam.
Moderation:
Uli Brase
Sam Vance-Law
Friday, May 29
13:00–14:00
Another election already? Yep. The “super election year” also means that Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV) is up in September—and it’s about more than just ticking a box on a ballot paper.
What’s actually going on in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern right now—and what does it have to do with you? Between moving away or staying, disappearing cultural spaces, and quite heated debates, a few questions arise that are no longer so easy to ignore: Who is being heard? What’s going wrong? And how do we manage to talk to each other more again, instead of drifting apart?
For this, we’re bringing people onto the stage who are (or want to be) involved in shaping things—from democratic parties, including Bettina Martin, and from civil society. Together, we’ll look at what really concerns young people and those interested in culture in MV.
Not a Sunday-speeches panel, but a conversation about what is—and what could be. Come along and join in.
Speakers:
- Niklas Hehenkamp (board member, Die Linke MV)
- Henriette Held (federal chair, Green Youth)
- Bettina Martin (Minister for Science, Culture, Federal and European Affairs MV)
- Katja Thiede (citizen, Horst & Freund:innen e.V.)
- Marko Vonhoff (CDU candidate for the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election)
Moderation: Patrick Hinz (editor-in-chief, KATAPULT MV)
Friday, May 29
14:30–15:30
Culture connects—it builds identity, creates exchange, and holds our society together. At the same time, it is more accessible today than ever before: music, films, and other cultural content are available at any time. We consume more, but do we still understand what lies behind it? Is culture a fundamental right? Should it be affordable for everyone—and how can this be reconciled with fair pay and high quality standards? At the same time, tickets for events are becoming noticeably more expensive—not least because the overall costs of cultural production are also rising.
In this panel, we will talk about why cultural production remains so abstract for many people—and what work, structures, and costs actually lie behind it. From illegal downloads to streaming platforms: how has our relationship with cultural value changed? What role do public subsidies play, and how dependent are we on platforms?
A conversation about the value of culture—and why it concerns all of us.
Speakers:
- Hendrik Menzl (Managing Director, Kulturland MV)
- Mine (musician)
- Molly Mönch (Managing Director, Audiolith)
Moderation: Aida Baghernejad (freelance journalist)
Saturday, May 30
13:00–14:00
Climate, war, chancellors, and catastrophes—so many news stories, mostly bad ones, are currently pouring in on us at a frequency and intensity we have not experienced in at least a generation. Through Instagram, TikTok, the Tagesschau, or at the big family table over Easter. What are we supposed to do? How do we deal with it?
Some people stick their heads in the sand, i.e. avoid all news entirely; some retreat into their own bubble, and others escape into (symbolic) activism. But surely there must be another way. We want to talk about how to deal with multi-crisis situations, find approaches and practical help, and learn from others who have already gone through crisis situations or found positive ways of dealing with them—whether through art, society, or other forms. We want to find support together and look toward the future with optimism.
Speakers:
- Bertold Jentsch (museologist, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz)
- Dr. Josefa Kny (management, betterplace lab)
- Jan Kuschkowitz (spokesperson, Youth Council Neustrelitz)
- Inga Oder (guitarist & songwriter, Kapa Tult)
Moderation: Ina Lebedjew (editorial director, detektor.fm)
Saturday, May 30
14:30–15:30
For many years, the Immergut Festival has accompanied us and you—some of you for longer, others only more recently. For all of us, Immergut is an important date in the annual (festival) calendar that we don’t want to miss. Especially not in the current politically and socially challenging times, which are also noticeably affecting Immergut. Among other things, cautious ticket sales, significantly higher production costs, stronger competition from major players, and changing perspectives on music festivals as a whole are forcing us to question our festival in order to make it future-proof.
That’s why we want to talk with you about the Immergut of the future—what should the festival look like? What needs to change? Who should be on the stages? Which topics are missing—and why do we want to talk about this with you right now?
On Saturday, we are taking one hour to start a discussion that we want to continue throughout the 2026 festival, in order to collectively create an Immergut for 2027 and beyond.
You can already share initial ideas during the festival at the Immergut merch stand: there you’ll find an “idea tree” waiting to be filled.
Joining us: people from the immergutrocken e.V., input from other festival organizers—and above all, you and your ideas!
Moderation: Sarah Ben Bernou (futurist and creative consultant)