30 Years Christopher Street Day in Berlin
Patricia| 2008-06-29 1.42 am The lousy weather (overcast with heavy showers) had no affect on the party atmosphere of the colourful, shrill and sometimes deafening 30th Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin. This, for the first time also included the east of the city in its route and was attended by some 500,000 spectators and sympathisers.
What 30 years ago started off as a political demonstration against the violence and discrimination experienced by gays and lesbians, with a couple of floats and a small group of spectators, has turned into a massive spectacle, almost a carnival and attracts guests from all over the world. In doing so, the demonstration aspect is not forgotten, with this year’s motto „Hass du was dagegen“ (roughly translated as: Hate, do something to stop it), which seeks to draw attention to the problem of everyday violence against homosexuals and other minority groups.
Photos from the 30th Christopher Street Day Parade in Berlin
On the morning before the parade, politicians along with representatives of lesbian and gay organisations took part in a commemoration service, at the new memorial to the persecution of homosexuals under the Nazis.
The name Christopher Street Day (CSD) is used in Germany and Switzerland (whereas Gay Pride or Pride are more common in the rest of the world) and celebrates the protest and uprising of homosexuals and other minorities against police assaults that took place in New York’s Christopher Street in Greenwich Village on June 27, 1969.
Included in the nearly 50 floats, which took part in the parade, were nearly all the large political parties, SPD (Social Democrats), the Greens (with Claudia Roth), CDU (conservatives), FDP (liberals) and Die Linke (Socialists), along with trade unions, state-owned companies (such as Vivantes, Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the BVG, Berlins public transport operator), also the German Band Rosenstolz (not making a personal appearance, but showing their support with their own float) and many, many more.
Photos from the 30th Christopher Street Day Parade in Berlin
More on the Christopher Street Day - 3P Images recommends:
- CSD Berlin (Official site)
- Christopher Street Day (CSD) (Wikipedia)
