At the start of the parade, thousands of participants observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the suspected Islamist terrorist attack on the sidelines of the Christopher Street Day (CSD) three weeks ago. Dr. Motte, co-founder of the organization ‘Rave The Planet’, called on participants at an opening rally to think about love. A representative of the CSD association said: ‘Let us be brave. Let us show our stance. Now more than ever.’
The police estimated the number of participants in the evening at several tens of thousands, while the managing director of ‘Rave the Planet’, Timm Zeiss, according to rbb, assumed significantly more than 200,000. After the first hours, the police reported a ‘trouble-free course’ and almost 40 temporary arrests. By late evening, the fire brigade reported only 14 ambulance transports, which is very little for a major event in hot temperatures.
The parade moved under the motto ‘Imagine Love’ between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column along Straße des 17. Juni – not far from the site of the attack, where a woman was killed and at least 31 people were injured on July 25. Around 1,500 police officers accompanied the spectacle, supported by forces from Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt. There was an ‘extensive blocking concept’ with graduated protection zones and heavy mobile bollards at critical points.
In parallel, the ‘Fuckparade’ took place with around 3,000 participants, which was directed against the commercialization and displacement of subcultures. Organizer Martin Kliehm told the rbb24 Abendschau that it was important to take to the streets for subculture and free spaces in Berlin, against gentrification and the dying of clubs.
Source: Tagesschau
