Who has time to head to the Green Week in the morning, as it opens its doors this Friday? The typical clientele: friends, arm in arm, well beyond 50, presumably retirees. Men with thick bellies who look like farmers who want to celebrate a bit. Couples where he calls her “Mom” and she calls him “Dad” — with bags over their shoulders that are still slack and want to be filled with bargains as they tour the halls. What will turn out to be a misperception. Free samples and snacks? That was yesterday. Unless you are a politician.
And yet every year hundreds of thousands are drawn to the Green Week, which this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary. It first took place in February 1926. The organizers expect around 325,000 visitors this time at the fair, which runs through January 25. About 1,600 exhibitors from 50 countries present themselves in the fair halls under the Funkturm.
On Friday morning, when the doors were still closed to the public, Federal Minister of Agriculture Alois Rainer (CSU) conducted the traditional opening tour. For him it was in this capacity the first time. His companions, Farmers’ President Joachim Rukwied and the Chairman of the Federation of German Food Industries (BVE) Christian von Boetticher, are veterans in this regard. Also present: Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU), EU Agricultural Commissioner Christophe Hansen, and the fair’s director Mario Tobias.
Official Tour Lasting More Than Three Hours
More than three hours were planned for the tour, with the press in tow. Stop every few meters, shake hands, take a sip, nibble on snacks — that’s how it goes. Ukraine served sparkling wine at its stand, the Bulgarians had dancing and pastries, the Czechs beer, and the Poles sausage, which, from the perspective of the trained butcher Rainer, did not quite measure up to the home white sausage. In the Holland Hall, the agriculture minister was allowed to christen a new tulip variety that the Dutch had bred especially for Green Week: the “Berlin Jubilee.” Estonia presented canapés with elk meat and bread.
Later, once the public had gained entry, the hour of local politicians arrived. In the Thuringia Hall, Thuringia’s State Secretary for Agriculture, Marcus Malsch (CDU), stands on the stage in a leather apron and is toasted with a glass of Köstritzer beer from the Schwarzbier brewery of his state.
In the Brandenburg Hall, you see Brandenburg’s Minister of Agriculture, Hanka Mittelstädt (SPD), deep in conversation in front of the stand of the State Hunting Association. Was it about wolves? A draft bill by Federal Minister of Agriculture Rainer calls for significantly loosening the wolf’s protection status and enabling hunting of the animal. The hunting lobby groups have long demanded this. Mittelstädt had already in 2025 stated that she was open to a more easily permissible cull.
Rulers with a Political Message
She would not be drawn into a statement for on Friday in front of the hunting association’s stand. The only thing she said: the new legal framework must first be introduced in the state parliament. Then the spokeswoman pressed on.
Right beside the State Hunting Association at the Brandenburg Rural Women’s Association stand there is a surprise. On a small table lie little rulers inscribed with: “Not a millimeter to the right.” A message that nobody had expected at the Green Week. And also free to take along.
