US, May 24 -- Under brilliant blue skies and warm early-summer sunshine, Berlin is once again transforming itself into Europe's biggest open-air celebration of diversity. During the long Pentecost weekend, the German capital erupts into a four-day explosion of music, dance, food, activism and color as the world-famous Carnival of Cultures takes over the streets.

From samba rhythms echoing along Karl-Marx-Allee to Afrobeat dance circles in Kreuzberg and Caribbean drums rolling through Friedrichshain, Berlin is celebrating what many residents proudly call the city's greatest strength: its multicultural identity.

The festival, known locally as Karneval der Kulturen, draws more than half a million visitors every year and features thousands ...