The Christopher Street Day (CSD) procession moves along the Straße des 17. In the background: the Victory Column.
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After two years of restrictions due to the Corona pandemic, a large demonstration marched through Berlin again on Saturday for Christopher Street Day (CSD) with tens of thousands of people.
The demonstration procession with almost 100 vehicles, loud house, disco and electro beats, confetti canonades and lots of imaginatively dressed foot people led on a 7.4 kilometer route through several Berlin districts. The starting point was the Spittelmarkt in Mitte, the destination the Brandenburg Gate. A closing party with a stage program was then planned there into the evening.
According to estimates of the organizers, about 600,000 people participated in the CSD, as a spokesman said in the evening on RBB. The police put the number of participants in the hour-long demonstration, which progressed slowly in the streets, many of which were lined with crowds, at around 150,000 people.
The Berlin CSD is one of the largest events of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer community in Europe. On the one hand, the participants went against violence and discrimination. On the other hand, they wanted to celebrate a summer mega-party and just have fun. This was also expressed in the motto of the demonstration: It was «United in love. Against hate, war and discrimination».
According to the organizers, 96 vehicles and at least 80 foot groups from all over the world took part in the demonstration procession - more than ever before at the CSD in Berlin, which was now experiencing its 44th edition. Among them were people from Ukraine, which has been fighting off a Russian war of aggression for five months. They were given a truck.
It was also about political messages. At the opening, Berlin's Senator for Culture Klaus Lederer (Linke) recalled the Russian war against Ukraine. "«Thousands of people have fled, including many queer people.» In Germany, people from the community are discriminated against, complained Lederer, who himself is openly gay. The fight against this and for equality must continue, he said. «We have to emancipate ourselves.»
Novum in Berlin: On the occasion of the 44th CSD edition, three rainbow flags flew for the first time at and on the Reichstag building, the seat of the Bundestag. The Chancellor's Office and other institutions such as the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Ministry of Defense also set an example for diversity and tolerance with the flag, and the Federal Council had also announced the same. It was only in April that the Ministry of the Interior had officially granted permission for the symbol to be hoisted in front of or on federal official buildings on certain occasions.
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Hundreds of thousands came to the Berlin CSD 2022 on July 23. The motto of the parade for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people was "United in Love! Against hate, war and discrimination." more