☀️ Guten Morgen, Berlin!
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Here’s your quick update on what’s happening around the city on Friday, October 24 - from urgent alerts to stories in the subreddit. Today we went through 100+ articles, posts and events so you don't have to.
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🇩🇪 Company representatives on the move: when door-to-door sales cause fear
Berliners are grappling with pushy door-to-door visits, rbb24 reported yesterday. A TikTok user described two men claiming to be from Deutsche Telekom who tried to enter and even wedged a foot in her door. Police do not track fake company callers. Firms tout company badges, uniforms and quick response (QR) codes; telecoms never do unannounced router checks. (rbb24)
Direct selling remains entrenched despite online ads. The Federal Direct Selling Association says industry revenue reached 20.89 billion euros in 2024, up two point eight percent versus 2022, with more than 900,000 people active. That scale helps explain persistent door-to-door outreach by large utilities and telecommunications providers. (lifePR)
Meanwhile, doorstep interactions sit against a broader crime backdrop. Germany recorded 78,436 home break-ins in 2024, including attempts, and only 15.3 percent were cleared. Estimated losses reached 340.6 million euros. Police emphasize sturdy doors and skepticism toward unsolicited visitors, with daytime break-ins concentrated in big cities. (Polizei-Beratung)
🇩🇪 Why more and more public toilets are unusable
Berlin’s public toilets are increasingly unusable due to long “occupations” and vandalism, the operator and city said yesterday. Wall GmbH, which runs 278 of 379 facilities funded with 16.5 million euros this year, reports rising occupancy from October to March, with hotspots in Kreuzberg and Wedding. Measures at 40 sites, including night closures, have had mixed results; a Yorckstraße unit was shut in August. (rbb24)
Cold-weather pressure helps explain the trend. For the 2025–2026 season, Berlin opened 720 emergency shelter beds on October 1. Capacity rises to 995 beds in November and to 1,150 from December through March, before easing to 1,060 in April. Limited, time-bound beds can leave people seeking enclosed, heated spaces elsewhere. (Berlin.de)
This points to a service squeeze: without more shelter, outreach, and harm-reduction options, closures and misuse will persist, undermining hygiene and access. The model works elsewhere; in 2023, Germany’s consumption rooms oversaw 650,000 consumption events and managed over 650 overdoses with zero deaths, according to the first nationwide survey. (Deutsche Aidshilfe)
🇬🇧 Berlin in fight to keep its clubs alive
Berlin’s famed techno clubs are scrambling to survive, the report said yesterday, as soaring costs, shifting tastes, and a tight property market squeeze venues. At Renate, revelers marked its 18th birthday even as its lease ends this year. The Clubcommission warned 46% of members may shut; queer mainstay SchwuZ filed for bankruptcy amid €50,000 monthly deficits. (RTE.ie)
Beyond the dance floor, clubs are an economic engine. A Clubcommission study cites more than 9,000 jobs tied to the sector, nearly three million “club tourists” annually, and about €1.5 billion in yearly spending connected to nightlife. Those figures show how closures would ripple through hospitality, transport, and the creative economy. (Clubcommission)
Property and rent pressures intensify the strain. Deutsche Welle reports around 43% of Berlin club operators are hit by rising commercial rents. It notes Watergate’s finances deteriorated after its landlord doubled the rent in the late 2010s, while lease expiries threaten other venues in fast‑gentrifying districts. (DW)
⚡ Quick Hits
🇩🇪 Südkreuz station without regional and long-distance services for almost two months from Friday | Südkreuz loses regional and long‑distance service for nearly two months for Dresdner Bahn upgrades.
🇬🇧 What to do on Halloween in Berlin | Berlin's Halloween offers spooky, eclectic events from queer warehouse raves to family-friendly lantern walks.
🇩🇪 Dispute over BVG: Manager earns as much as the Chancellor | Berlin's transit chaos spotlights lavish executive pay, costly missteps, and frustration.
🇩🇪 Urbanliner too heavy for Berlin? Why the launch of the new BVG streetcar could be further delayed | Berlin's new 100-ton Urbanliner trams face delayed launch over bridge safety checks.
🇩🇪 Low pressure "Joshua" brings storm to Berlin and Brandenburg | Storm Joshua brings strong southwest gusts to Berlin and Brandenburg, with warnings of falling branches.
🇩🇪 Ferris wheel in Berlin's Spreepark is back - first ride planned for 2027 | Restored Spreepark Ferris wheel returns as a symbol of a green cultural park, sparking debate.
🇬🇧 Pressure mounts on Germany to choose whether banning the AfD will save democracy or splinter it | Germany wrestles with whether banning Alternative for Germany will protect or fracture democracy.
📅 Events Today
🎟️ Voices Berlin Festival | October 24 - November 16, 2025 | Varies depending on the event, festival pass €249 | International performers converge to fuse contemporary music, avant‑garde theatre, sound installations and dance into provocative, cross‑disciplinary performances—perfect for anyone hungry for fresh artistic voices and boundary‑pushing live experiences.
🎟️ Ostpro Berlin | October 24-26, 2025 | €3, children up to 10 years free | Rediscover East German classics: taste heritage snacks, hunt retro design and toys, nab quirky porcelain, cosmetics and memorabilia—ideal for nostalgia fiends, vintage-kitsch lovers or anyone after unexpected souvenir treasures.
🎟️ Tomorrow: Diwali Festival | October 25, 2025 | From €11.65 | Celebrate an Indian festival of lights with stand-up comedy, live bands, colourful dance, market stalls selling authentic eats and crafts, plus Bollywood dancing, karaoke and a knockout after-party—pure love, light and laughter.
💬 What Berliners Are Talking About
🗣️ Specialty coffee scene | Locals recommend Berlin specialty roasters, balancing quality, price and ethics.
🗣️ Non-EU citizens who moved to Berlin tell me how you handled the mental health challenges/stress of moving here | Supportive advice and practical coping tips for a mentally struggling new Berlin immigrant.
🗣️ Am I not allowed to have a phone call on the bus? | Debate over whether normal phone calls on German buses are rude or just loud.
🛑 Word of the Day: Spaßbremse | Literal: Fun-brake | Meaning: A party pooper, a wet blanket. | Example: Komm schon, tanz mit uns! Sei keine Spaßbremse! (Come on, dance with us! Don't be a fun-brake!)
👋 That's a wrap! Thanks for reading Berlin News Daily!
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