Bel R! Festival

Bel R! Festival will return for its fourth edition in May 2026. With around 80 free events taking place in public spaces, Rüsselsheim’s downtown will offer a fresh cultural experience from May 13 to 17.

The independent festival will once again take place across several venues around the city centre: on the open-air festival site at Landungsplatz on the River Main, numerous bands and solo musicians will perform on the sturmfrei and Stadtwerke stages. As well as African dance workshops on Gemeindeplatz or creative workshops on Löwenplatz, those interested can also work on a Bel R! song in the recording studio at the ‘just’ youth centre in the city centre, make handmade paper at freiraum f3, or get a behind-the-scenes look at Bel R!’s event technology. Yannick Pfeifer, artist and curator of the “dieTaube_galerie” on Europaplatz, will once again be guiding visitors through the art trail he has conceived, in which regional artists exhibit their works in shops and restaurants in Rüsselsheim town centre.

Visitors can also look forward to a drag show, a pole dance performance, street magic, yoga and a sound installation, amongst other things. For younger audiences, TheaterRaumMainz is staging the interactive play “Tranquilla Trampeltreu”, based on the picture book by Michael Ende. Four parties will also be held in collaboration with Rollwerk.

The festival, which is a project organised by the sturmfrei association, will open on 13 May at 6 pm on the sturmfrei stage by the Main. Immediately afterwards, the rock band The Jukes will play from 6.30 pm and the indie band LEHNER from 8.30 pm on the sturmfrei stage; in addition, the rappers Li.Moon and Masurka will perform at 7.30 pm on the Stadtwerke stage. Admission to all festival events is free.

Bel R! stands for the beautiful town of Rüsselsheim and for the beauty found in Rüsselsheim. We aim to breathe new life into the town centre. The festival is organised by the non-profit association sturmfrei e. V. We are visual artists, cultural practitioners – both volunteers and full-time professionals – and musicians. Our aim is to strengthen local creative projects in the long term and to provide a platform for newcomers.