Culture Agenda: The best things to do, hear, see or watch in Europe this week
February always feels like a quiet rush, but there's plenty to fill the time with. While we've focused on two exhibitions happening in London, elsewhere in Europe we've also covered the Nxt Museum's technological exploration 'Still Processing', along with a trailblazing new art initiative in the Finnish city of Oulu, which has been named European Capital of Culture 2026.
The Berlin Film Festival also continues this week, with many highly-anticipated movies due to premiere. Our critic David Mouriquand will be keeping us well fed with reviews and interviews throughout - so stay tuned!
And speaking of cinema, Walter Salles' Oscar-nominated picture I'm Still Here is released in UK cinemas on 21 February and is definitely one to look out for - alongside the below suggestions.
Enjoy, and let us know what you get up to and what you're planning!
Exhibitions
Sophie von Hellermann: Moonage
Where: Pilar Corrias (London, UK)
When: Until 22 March 2025
There's a starman waiting in London's Pilar Corrias gallery, with a galactic daydream of an exhibition by German artist Sophie von Hellermann. Drawing on fables and mythology, her paintings are like brushstrokes into a swirling subconscious world, where places and people are caught in dreamlike motion. Her series of moonlit masterpieces, hued in the cosmic energies of romance and ambient cosiness, are titled 'Moonage', paying tribute to David Bowie and his iconic androgynous character Ziggy Stardust. It's out of this world.
Making Egypt
Where: Young V&A (London, UK)
When: Until 2 November 2025
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Did you know that Ancient Egyptians invented toothpaste around 5000 BC by mixing things like salt with flowers? This fascinating civilisation cultivated many of the foundations of modern societies and continue to captivate our imaginations.
A new exhibition at the Young V&A in London explores this further, with over 200 Egyptian-themed items from their archives that have never been displayed before. From a 3,000-year-old wooden funerary boat to a modern-day LEGO construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza, it walks us through the creativity and innovation at the heart of Ancient Egypt, and how that continues to inspire the world today.
Events
Fête du Citron (Lemon Festival)
Where: Menton, France
When: 15 February - 2 March
When life gives you lemons, head to Menton, also known as 'Cité des Citrons'! This vibrant annual event hasn't lost any of its zest since it started celebrating of the Mediterranean French resort's famed production of oranges and lemons. Having originated in 1934, streets are filled with fantastical fruit-laden floats. It's one of Europe's quirkiest traditions and welcomes a slowly awakening spring with all the bright colours and communal excitement.
The Monkey
From British pop star Robbie Williams in Better Man, to a satanically possessed wind-up toy in The Monkey, primates might be cinemas' new main character. A follow-up to the (overhyped) 2024 movie Longlegs, director Osgood Perkins keeps things horror with an adaptation of a short story by Stephen King. Two twin brothers (both played by Theo James) have been cursed by the presence of a sinister percussion-playing monkey toy all their lives, which causes gruesome deaths to all those that witness it. Twenty-five year after they thought they'd destroyed it, the toy re-enters their lives and once again sets in motion a blood-splattered spree of gorily humorous devastation.
The Berlin film Festival 2025
The 75th Berlinale, the world's biggest movie festival for the public, began last week (13 February) with the opening film Das Licht (The Light) by Tom Tykwer. Our critic David Mouriquand called it "an ambitious, clumsy and ultimately insufferable parable" - but thankfully there's a lot more (hopefully good) stuff to come! From press conferences to exclusive interviews and reviews of all Competition films, keep your eyes peeled for all our upcoming coverage this week - and don't forget to look through our ten most anticipated titles.
Television
Zero Day
When: 20 February
Where: Netflix
Robert De Niro has finally arrived on the small screen in a leading role! Playing a straight-talking former US President tasked with leading an investigation into a devastating global cyberattack that resulted in several fatalities, it's an urgent thriller with added heft in Trump's political climate. Delving into themes of corruption, power and misinformation amidst the complex internal revelations of its protagonist, the show is fast-pulsed with drama and tension - even if as De Niro told Netflix "right now, our actual world is scarier.'
Also currently streaming and highly recommended: White Lotus, Yellowjackets and Severance - see the full list of current and upcoming TV shows we're most excited about this year.
Music
Sam Fender: People Watching
When: 21 February
Similar to The War on Drugs, British singer-songwriter Sam Fender's music has that effervescent coming-of-age quality. His third album, a follow-up to 2021's award-winning 'Seventeen Going Under', has taken a while - a deliberate choice. Posting on social media last November, Fender said: 'Me and the band have picked away at these songs for the last couple of years, we recorded so much material in that time and deliberated long and hard over what came next."
The 30-year-old released two singles ahead of the album's release: 'Arm's length' and 'People watching', the latter of which stars acclaimed Irish actor Andrew Scott in its music video.
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