Berlin & Brandenburg Sports Highlights 2026 | Event Guide

The regional top sports year traditionally starts in Neustadt (Dosse) – at the Concours de Saut International (CSI) in the Graf-von-Lindenau-Halle. The international show jumping tournament has been established for many years and attracts the elite to the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district of Brandenburg.

In 2026, the 24th edition will mark the start of the World Cup year. The highlight is the Brandenburg Grand Prix on Sunday as one of two world ranking competitions in Neustadt (Dosse). In total, spectators can look forward to 31 jumping competitions. Riders from 10 to 15 nations are expected. In addition to show jumping, the focus is also on breeding in and around the Graf-von-Lindenau-Halle.

It will be historic: Berlin basketball world champions Franz and Moritz Wagner will play the first official NBA league game in Germany with the Orlando Magic at the beginning of the new year. They will meet the Memphis Grizzlies on January 15, 2026 in the Berlin Arena at Ostbahnhof, where both also played for their youth club Alba Berlin.

“The fact that the Orlando Magic and the NBA are playing a regular season game in our hometown of Berlin means everything to us. We grew up here and dreamed of moments like this,” said Franz and Moritz Wagner.

As in the past two years, the historic cycling highlight in the Velodrome will only take place on two days instead of the six days promised in the name. But what remains? The colorful show with music, light shows, etc. Cycling professionals and newcomers traditionally compete in various disciplines on the track. In 2026 the event will take place for the 113th time. The first race was held in 1909 – back then in the Zoological Garden. A sporting special feature this year: four-time world champion and three-time Olympic medalist Maximilian Levy is returning to the sprint track three years after retiring.

“Because we dream every year,” goes a fan song that describes Hertha BSC’s longing for great successes like the final of the DFB Cup. Unlike their own second team, the Blue-Whites’ professionals have never been in the cup final and have tragically failed several times in recent years on their way to happiness.

Now there is another chance for the final in the Olympic Stadium at home. After the historic 6-1 win over 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the Berliners are in the cup quarter-finals. The opponent is SC Freiburg – a first division team, but still one of the more beatable. If Hertha manages to pull off a surprise, only a win will separate the blue and whites from their dream.

One of the most important tournaments in gymnastics has been taking place in Cottbus since 1979. This year too: in February the Lausitz Arena will become the Gymnastics Olympus for the 49th time. Last year, the world association announced that the traditional event would retain its World Cup status at least until 2028. At the last edition, around 400 people from 30 nations came to Lusatia. There were more than 140 athletes among them.

The Istaf Indoor in the Arena at Ostbahnhof is a fixed program item for all athletics fans who want to experience the top athletes up close. Eight events take place in the main program – namely: 60 meters (women/men), 60 meters para (men), 60 meters hurdles (women/men), long jump (women), shot put (women) and pole vault (men). Numerous stars come to Berlin year after year.

It is already known that the best hurdlers from Europe and the world will compete in the arena this year. Ditaji Kambundji (Switzerland), Nadine Visser (Netherlands) and Pia Skrzyszowska (Poland) are competing and want to break the meeting record of 7.79 seconds. “It will be a very fast race, and none of the women will want to expose themselves. It would be incredibly strong if one of them broke the meeting record from 2014. It is the oldest best performance of our meeting for women,” said meeting director Martin Seeber.

The slightly different sporting program item of the year. During the pug run, the focus is not on the time spent, but rather on preserving the pugs. The goal is to find and photograph the 27 stone pugs that are distributed throughout Brandenburg an der Havel. The entire period can be used for your own run – at the end the most beautiful pug pictures will be awarded a prize.

On Easter Sunday it’s that time again: the racing season at the Hoppegarten horse and gallop racing track (Märkisch-Oderland) begins. It is the first of seven racing days that will take place until October 3rd (German Unity Race Day). Admission is from 9:45 a.m., the first start will be at 11:15 a.m. The most traditional long-distance race of the day is the Altano race, in which four-year-old and older horses compete over 2,800 meters. And thanks to the Easter egg hunt and petting zoo, the children also get their money’s worth.

Berlin will be the venue for the German Swimming Championships in 2026. The title fights in the swimming and diving hall in the Europasportpark (SSE) are the highlight of the season – it is the last chance to qualify for the European Championships in Paris in August.

The dream is alive for Hertha, but other local clubs such as Union Berlin and Energie Cottbus are no longer represented in the cup competition, which, like every year, will hold its final in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. A spectacle that crowns the football season and brings two fan camps on a pilgrimage to the capital.

For the 20th time, more than 1,700 athletes will be competing at the Youth Island in Treptower Park to swim, run and cycle. It doesn’t have to be the Olympic distance. There is also a sprint distance, a super sprint distance and a children’s triathlon. Participation as a relay team is also possible.

An old tennis saying goes: After the French Open is before Wimbledon. And a relatively new one: Berlin is before Wimbledon. At the Berlin Tennis Open, the best players in the world are preparing for the Grand Slam in London at the LTTC Rot-Weiß facility at Grunewalder Hundekehlesee. The WTA grass tournament in the Steffi Graf Stadium attracts tennis fans from all over the world. This year, top players such as Marketa Vondrousova, Madison Keys and Aryna Sabalenka took part.

Arguably the biggest sporting event of 2026 begins in June in the USA, Canada and Mexico: the Football World Cup. The German national team has to prevail in the group phase against Ecuador, the Ivory Coast and the exotic Curacao in order to then play for the World Cup title.

Football fans from all over the world were somewhat shocked by the ticket prices, but there is probably a cheaper way to watch the games in large groups: the fan mile in Berlin. This year too, the masses are expected to head to the Brandenburg Gate to enjoy the football spectacle together in good weather and in an even better mood and hopefully cheer a lot.

The popular athletics meeting in the Olympic Stadium attracts tens of thousands of fans every year. In 2025, around 200 athletes took part in the event, which has been taking place since 1921. The track and field stars met in a total of 14 competitions.

The handball players showed it with the home tournament a few weeks ago: women’s sport is on the rise in all sports. The German basketball players also want to continue this upswing next September, because then the home World Cup is coming up in Berlin. A total of 36 games will be played in the arena at Ostbahnhof and Max-Schmeling-Halle.

Top sporting performances and an extraordinary atmosphere: in 2026, Berliners will of course not have to miss out on the traditional marathon Sunday. Wheelchair users and hand bikers will also be at the start as usual, the skaters will already be on Saturday. By the way: in 2025 there were more than 55,000 participants from 160 nations.

Broadcast: rbb|24, January 1st, 2026, 8:00 a.m