Ascension Day is a public holiday in Germany, and though it falls on a Thursday rather than a Monday, it still allows an extra non-working day to be included in the five-day GFB 2018 programme.

And since many in Germany take the Friday off too in order to have an extended holiday weekend, Germans so inclined can indulge their fetish interests to the full with minimum work-avoiding. So everybody wins.

For Germans and visitors from further afield, the Berlin fetish weekend is the most prestigious European long-form event on the international kink calendar.

Not only does it combine the sense of occasion and spectacle of the Ball itself with the shopping opportunities of the German Fetish Fair, and offer the wild, style-conscious party vibe of FetishGuerilla Revolution alongside play nights and other supporting events.

But it does all this in Berlin, a city brimming with mainstream and alternative cultural attractions. A city that offers visitors both excitement and good value — even for us Brits with our weakened pound.

So if you can only manage one European fetish weekend in 2018, the GFB Weekend is the one to aim for — especially if you’ve yet to experience the delights of Berlin the city.

Happily, the GFB 2018 dates — Wednesday-Sunday, May 9-13 — don’t clash with other major international fetish weekends (the cause of last year’s date change).

Nor, unlike last year, are the dates uncomfortably close to Fetish Evolution’s traditional Easter gathering in Essen (this year also a 15^th anniversary celebration).

Basically, normal service has been resumed. There are no big surprises in the schedule for anyone who’s been to a GFB Weekend in the last few years, though there are a couple of minor changes to be aware of.

One difference with GFB 2018 is that the Kinky Cocktails opening party hosted by Savage Wear at Badehaus has moved forward to Wednesday night (May 9), so it no longer overlaps with the GFB VIP Reception & Play Night on Thursday 10.

At the other end of the schedule, you might expect — but you won’t find — a repeat of 2017’s Sunday night Sonic Boom party at Matrix. Sonic Boom was only possible on Sunday last year because that Sunday was followed by a public holiday on Monday.

And while it was a pretty good night, the fetish models whose (unofficial but popular) Sunday karaoke night concept was ‘borrowed’ for that extra official event probably won’t be mourning Sonic Boom’s non-return in 2018.

GFB 2018 programme

A ticketing tip: if you plan to attend all or most of the events in the official programme, it’s best to invest in a GFB VIP ticket at €135.

It will give you a substantial saving on the combined individual admission prices of all events. You’ll find a link to the GFB ticketing page at the end of this article.

WEDNESDAY MAY 9 2018

8pm: GFB Kinky Cocktails
& Savage Wear Fetish Night

Badehaus Berlin, Revaler Str 99, 10245 Berlin

KINKY COCKTAILS kicks off the 2018 Weekend on May 9 (KC 2017 photo: Heinrich v Schimmer)

Now well established as the official opening party of each GFB Weekend, the Kinky Cocktails/Savage Wear night returns to last year’s popular new venue Badehaus, in Friedrichshain just across the rail tracks from the GFB’s old home at Matrix.

This event brings together partygoers with models, artists, designers and other industry creatives to launch GFB 2018’s five days of fetish festivities. It’s primarily a relaxed social evening, with dancefloor