“Who’s Your Diva?!” Berlin’s Citywide Drag Celebration of Arab* Icons

An exciting citywide festival will be taking over Berlin this October, and we’re so jealous that we’re not going to be there to enjoy it.

ADIRA Drag Festival is returning for its third and most ambitious edition yet after two years of major success, and this time, the festival is expanding its horizons to not only spotlight Arab identities, but also include the wider East Mediterranean. This year, they’ll be incorporating Turkish, Kurdish, Greek, Cypriot, and SWANA diaspora voices across Berlin, Paris, London, Athens, and beyond.

The importance of ADIRA

Taking place from October 18 until October 31, the beauty of this festival lies in their representation of the “Diva”, a transcultural symbol of identity that has been mellowing within queer circles in the region. ADIRA looks at the Diva not simply as a glamorous figure, but as a cultural language through which people can explore gender, belonging, nostalgia, and self-expression.

ADIRA also prides itself on its deconstruction of Arab and East Mediterranean identities. As an art form, drag is inherently political and celebrates culture and heritage at a much deeper level, particularly in its anti-colonial, anti-orientalist representation of identities that are often misrepresented, misinterpreted, or erased entirely. The festival rebels against numerous systems of oppression through its queerness while simultaneously promoting a safe, positive, and celebratory space for dialogue.

The show unfolds in two acts. “The Antechamber” puts all the performers on stage at once, creating unexpected encounters as their different divas collide. Then comes “The ADIRA Games,” hosted by Jordanian creator Sanad Qutaishat, which takes inspiration from the iconic Drag Race Snatch Game format and turns the diva competition into a night of live improvisation and satire.

The lineup itself spans the Levant, North Africa, Anatolia, Cyprus, and the wider Mediterranean, with performers including Lebanese artists Diva Beirut, Hassandra, and Madame du Cri, Greek drag artist Chraja, Kurdish-Turkish drag king Berfusra, Syrian performer itgirldalia, Turkish performer Kekik, Egyptian performer Minu, Tunisian performer Sharifa, and Cypriot drag singer Tahini Molasses. Kuwaiti drag artist Lujane Oud will also make a video appearance.

The full festival program

Planning to attend? Here’s a breakdown of the full festival program, including the main show and afterparty.

1. October 18, 2 PM – 5 PM, WikiBär
Wikipedia Workshop with Thomas Schallhart: A collaborative workshop focused on researching, editing, and creating Wikipedia pages for Arab pop divas.

2. October 23, 3 PM – 5 PM, Refuge Worldwide
ADIRA Radio Takeover: A special broadcast exploring the musical connections and shared sounds of the East Mediterranean.

3. October 30, 6 PM – 10 PM, HAU1
ADIRA Drag Festival 3.0: “Who’s Your Diva?!” The festival’s main event is a drag theatre ensemble performed across two acts with an intermission. Each artist reimagines a diva who has shaped their journey, bringing their own take on these iconic figures to the stage.

4. October 30, 11 PM – 6 AM, ÆDEN
ADIRA Drag Festival Afterparty: The celebrations continue into the night with sets from xanax_attax, Sherryaeri, SU, SaHHar, Dania Najari, DumTak, Sao Moustafa, DJ Ay Ay Ay, and more artists still to be announced.

5. October 31, 6 PM, SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA
Closing Gathering: The festival wraps up with a more relaxed closing gathering, complete with a Mediterranean buffet followed by a film screening.

More about the festival

ADIRA was founded in 2023 by Lebanese multidisciplinary artist and DJ Hassandra and Syrian-German podcaster and DJ Zuher Jazmati, aka xanax_attax. What began as a queer Arabic-pop party and collective has since grown into a broader platform for drag, music, workshops, community events, and cultural programming.

The festival launched in June 2024 as the first-ever Arab Drag Festival, bringing more than 30 artists from Arabic-speaking regions and European cities to Berlin and attracting more than 700 attendees. The one-day program combined drag performances with workshops and panel discussions, creating a space for queer Arab artists to perform and tell their stories on their own terms.

The following year, ADIRA Drag Festival 2.0: Queer Arab Futurism expanded into a three-day festival exploring speculative queer Arab futures through performances, workshops, DJ sets, and discussions. The 2025 edition focused on imagining a world beyond borders, binaries, and colonial timelines, continuing ADIRA’s wider mission of challenging orientalist representations of Arab identities.

For more information, make sure to follow them on Instagram and check out their website. Check out the #Festivals section on our website to see what festivals are taking place around Lebanon!

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