Sommerblut Kulturfestival e.V.

What Sommerblut Kulturfestival e.V. does

Sommerblut Kulturfestival e.V. is a registered non-profit association based in Cologne, Germany, founded around 2000 by Rolf Emmerich, that produces an annual multi-venue cultural festival dedicated to inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities. Over 25 editions the organization has built programming across partner venues including Schauspiel Köln, Orangerie Theater, FWT Köln, Alte Feuerwache, TanzFaktur, KHM, and Theater Aachen, and also organizes the annual Mad Pride Köln demonstration. Its operations are run by a lean team of approximately 9 employees under the artistic direction of Anna-Mareen Henke and Khadidiatou Bangoura, with board oversight from Patrizia Kubanek, Mechthild Kreuser, and Ralf Simon.

The organization generates revenue through ticket sales, donations, and a layered grant and sponsorship stack comprising public funding from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the City of Cologne, and the EU's Creative Europe programme, alongside foundation support from Aktion Mensch, Rheinenergiestiftung, and Hollweg Stiftung. Ticketing is distributed via the third-party platform rausgegangen.de. There is no proprietary technology stack; the core product is the annual festival program and associated accessibility services, with the next edition scheduled for 28 April to 9 May 2027.

The business model is that of a grant-dependent cultural non-profit: recurring public and foundation funding underwrites each festival edition, supplemented by modest earned income from tickets and individual donations. Stakeholder relationships are concentrated in the Cologne cultural-policy ecosystem, with the 25th anniversary in 2025 recognized by Cologne's mayor, reinforcing the organization's standing in local cultural funding.

Name

Sommerblut Kulturfestival e.V.

Legal name

Sommerblut Kulturfestival e.V.

Website

https://sommerblut.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sommerblut Kulturfestival e.V. is a Cologne-based non-profit that produces an annual inclusive cultural festival and the Mad Pride demonstration, serving audiences with and without disabilities across multiple partner venues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Festival Services

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG), Cultural Heritage & Traditional Festivals (Folk, Ethnic, Indigenous) (MPAGAEAB)

Keywords

• Inclusive cultural festival
• Accessible performing arts
• Disability arts programming
• Nonprofit arts organization
• Cultural event production

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from ticket sales for festival events, with some free events available.
2. Public Funding & Grants: Sommerblut receives funding from public institutions including Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft NRW, Stadt Köln, and Creative Europe program.
3. Foundation & Sponsorship: Financial support from foundations such as Aktion Mensch, Rheinenergiestiftung, and Hollweg Stiftung.
4. Donations: Individual donations through Sommerblut Foundation and direct support mechanisms.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sommerblut Kulturfestival e.V. produces and presents an annual multi-week inclusive cultural festival in Cologne featuring theater, dance, performance art, installations, film screenings, panel discussions, and workshops. Programming centers on solidarity, accessibility, and representation of disabled artists, migrants, and other marginalized communities. The organization also delivers the annual Mad Pride Köln demonstration for disability rights and visibility, and runs the Sommerblut Foundation as a fundraising and grant-giving arm.

Product overview

Sommerblut Kulturfestival e.V. operates as an inclusive cultural festival organization centered on its annual Kulturfestival, a multi-week event in Cologne featuring theater, dance, performance art, installations, film screenings, panel discussions, and workshops. The festival emphasizes accessibility, inclusion, and solidarity, programming works by and with disabled artists, migrants, and other marginalized communities. A key component is the annual Mad Pride demonstration promoting disability rights and visibility. The organization also runs the Sommerblut Foundation for supporting inclusive cultural work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sommerblut Kulturfestival Annual multi-week inclusive cultural festival in Cologne featuring theater, dance, performance art, installations, film screenings, panel discussions, and workshops, with comprehensive accessibility services (German Sign Language interpretation, Easy Language, audio description, touch tours, barrier-free venues). Programmed for general cultural audiences, disabled communities, migrants, and other marginalized groups.
• Mad Pride Köln

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Schauspiel KölncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Cologne theater serving as key venue partner. Hosts multiple festival events including Mad Pride finale and BIG BÄÄM. Depot spaces in Mülheim district used for festival.
• FWT: Köln (Freies Werkstatt Theater)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner theater for co-productions including 'something shared' and panel discussions. Part of Mittelzentrum Tanz & Performance Köln collaboration.
• Orangerie TheatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner venue and co-producer. Part of Mittelzentrum Tanz & Performance Köln collaboration with FWT: Köln.
• CircusDanceFestival / Overhead ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partnership for contemporary circus and dance programming including 'What is left' production.
• KHM - Kunsthochschule für Medien KölnminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for film screening events including Sonic Cinema program.
• MörgensLab / Theater AachenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner for THE BIRDS REPUBLIC theatrical bus tour project.
• rausgegangen.decoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary ticketing partner for online ticket sales and event distribution.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mousonturm Frankfurt: Frankfurt-based performing arts center presenting dance, theater, and performance with strong contemporary and international programming. Comparable as a city-level publicly funded performing arts presenter with a similar scale profile to Sommerblut.
• Kampnagel Hamburg: Year-round performing arts venue and festival producer in Hamburg featuring dance, theater, and performance with international programming. Comparable as a publicly funded performing arts presenter emphasizing contemporary and inclusive work.
• Tanz im August: Berlin-based annual international dance and performance festival. Directly comparable as a city-based, multi-venue performing arts festival with public funding and a similar scale/profile to Sommerblut.
• PACT Zollverein: Essen-based performing arts center focused on dance, performance, and contemporary work with residency programs. Comparable as a publicly funded NRW-region performing arts presenter with similar scale and mission overlap.
• Theater der Welt: Triennial international theater festival organized by the ITI Germany, hosted in different German cities. Comparable as a publicly funded, multi-venue German performing arts festival with a thematic focus, though larger in scale and prestige.

Others

• Aktion Mensch: Germany's largest social funding organization supporting inclusion projects. Comparable not as a peer festival but as a major funder of Sommerblut's accessibility-focused programming and Mad Pride events.

Broad incumbents

• Ruhrtriennale: Large-scale triennial arts festival across the Ruhr region featuring theater, dance, music, and performance. Comparable as a multidisciplinary German festival with public funding, but operates at significantly larger scale and on a three-year cadence.
• Edinburgh Festival Fringe: World's largest performing arts festival held annually in Edinburgh. Comparable as a multi-venue, multi-disciplinary arts festival with broad public/audience reach, but operates at vastly greater scale and international scope.
• Festival d'Avignon: Major annual French performing arts festival featuring theater, dance, and performance across multiple venues. Comparable as a publicly supported, multidisciplinary European arts festival with public funding dependencies.

Emerging players

• un-label: European network for inclusive performing arts practice featuring disabled and non-disabled artists. Comparable as a smaller-scale inclusion-focused performing arts initiative operating in the same thematic space as Sommerblut's accessibility mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Sommerblut
• Instagraminstagram.com/sommerblut.kulturfestival
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sommerblut-kulturfestival-e-v

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sommerblut Kulturfestival e.V.