Chemnitz 2025: The poets are fighting for the German championship title!

Chemnitz 2025: The poets are fighting for the German championship title!

In Chemnitz it's all about rhymes, word games and the passion for poetry. From October 28th to 31st, 2025 you will find it here German Poetry Slam Championship takes place, a highlight in the calendar of the European Capital of Culture 2025. 80 individual poets and 16 teams from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg take part in the competition and ensure a top-class stage.

The championship is held in several rounds, with the coveted championship title being awarded at the end. Participation is not only intended for established artists, but also for young talents who want to find their own voice. Participants aged from under 20 to over 60 bring with them an impressive diversity of cultural backgrounds and genders, which makes the event all the more colorful. The focus is on the audience deciding on the best texts and performances - without any aids such as costumes or props. However, facial expressions, gestures, rapping and beatboxing are expressly permitted.

A platform for new voices

Before the championship, numerous writing workshops were held to exchange technical skills and creative ideas. The topics of the texts are as diverse as the participants themselves: from care work to impoverishment to discrimination. This diversity can be observed not only in the content, but also in the genres - from prose to poetry to comedy and storytelling.

The poetry slam scene in Germany is strong, especially in big cities like Berlin, Munich and Hamburg. Chemnitz will be visited by around 5,000 spectators in the coming days, who can look forward to a varied program that also has one or two surprises in store. Previous finalists like Hazel Brugger and Marc-Uwe Kling have ultimately set standards that need to be exceeded.

A look beyond the borders

However, the commitment to promoting poetry goes far beyond Chemnitz. Elsewhere, for example, is found European Poetry Slam Competition takes place, which brings together poets from all over Europe. Here in Chemnitz, however, you can concentrate entirely on the national scene and experience the exchange within this lively community up close.

At this championship, the organizers have had a good hand and created a stage that gives both experienced stage professionals and emerging talents the opportunity to show their skills. It will be exciting to see who can win the title from the strong field of participants this year!