ADIRA DRAG FESTIVAL 2.0: Queer Arab* Futurism

ADIRA Drag Festival returns with its second edition this November 12-14. The three day festival steps into a  speculative realm where queer Arab* futures are imagined, embodied, and celebrated. Through erased histories, reclaimed mythologies, and radical fantasies, ADIRA Drag Festival 2.0 proposes a world without borders, binaries, or imperial timelines.

Drawing inspiration from the Afro-futurism movement, ADIRA brings  an imagined future of sovereignty: a world where borders don’t exist, legacy is redefined, astrology replaces authority, and pop divas honor the queers and the girlies that inspired them. 

ADIRA Drag Festival 2.0 unfolds across three days, November 12–14, 2025 at Barazani and Festsaal Kreuzberg, offering knowledge-sharing, performances, and an afterparty. ADIRA is a space where queer Arab* creativity is showcased and cultural expression thrives beyond survival, reclaiming our stories from colonial, heteronormative, and orientalist frames.

Drag has always been a site of resistance, transformation, and possibility. From Sherihan’s Fawazir to Bassem Feghali’s impersonations and to Yehya Saade’s queer-coded visual legacies, ADIRA celebrates the stories and lineages that continue to inspire queer Arab* futures. ADIRA Drag Festival 2.0 is a love letter to our future selves. This year the performers are challenged with the theme to interpret it in their own way. And you? How do you imagine your future?

Arab* denotes inclusivity of diverse identities and ethnicities within Southwest Asia and North Africa.