Tens of thousands of people gathered on Berlin’s Leipziger Strasse at the start of the German capital’s annual Pride parade on Saturday, while people were arrested heading for a counter rally.
The Pride parade called for better protection for the gay community under this year’s slogan: “Never quiet again.”
Demonstrators made reference to a debate over whether to hoist the rainbow flag over the Reichstag Building housing the national parliament, the Bundestag.
Bundestag Vice President Omid Nouripour greeted the colourful throng with the words: “Hallo, Circus!”
Conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz had earlier welcomed the decision by Bundestag President Julia Klöckner not to fly the rainbow flag over the building with the words: “The Bundestag is not a circus tent after all.”
Arrests, anti-gay counter-rally
Two counter-demonstrations with 400 participants were registered.
An anti-gay demonstration on the Schöneberger Ufer drew between 30 and 50 participants, according to police figures. Participants showed banners of a youth group described as far-right extremist and potentially violent by the Berlin domestic intelligence agency.
Police protected the counterdemonstration with barriers.
Officers also made six arrests of individuals on their way to the counter-demonstration.
The police made the arrests in a knife and weapons prohibition zone at Alexanderplatz, officers said in a post on X.
The detainees include the organizer of the counter-assembly. The individuals were initially taken into police custody.
Police initiated proceedings for offences including insult, the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations and violation of the Explosives Act.
One person was arrested for violating the Weapons Act, though the spokeswoman did not specify the type of weapons involved.
The right-wing demonstration “against the CSD terror” drew some 30 to 50 people, police said.
In Germany, the term Christopher Street Day is used to refer to Pride celebrations for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) communities.
It is a reference to the location of the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village neighbourhood, where a protest against police discrimination on June 28, 1969, kick-started the gay liberation movement.
When the Pride parade reached the site of the counter protest at 1:45 pm (1145 GMT), many participants shouted this year’s motto, “Never silent again.”
Pride parade bound for Brandenburg Gate
Around 100 diverse groups and 80 open-top vehicles were expected to make their way from Leipziger Platz in Mitte, through Potsdamer Platz and Schöneberg to end at the Brandenburg Gate, a stone’s throw from the Reichstag Building, where a large closing rally is planned.
The weekend’s Pride celebrations began on Friday with the unfurling of a massive rainbow flag outside the Reichstag in Berlin in protest against the government’s decision not to hoist an official rainbow flag.
The flag, organizers say, measures 400 square metres – nearly the size of a basketball court. They held a demonstration including speeches and music, with numerous attendees waving rainbow flags.
In a related protest, the Social Democrats, the junior partner in the conservative-led governing coalition, hoisted the Progressive Pride flag, an evolution of the classic rainbow flag, incorporating additional colours to represent trans people and queer people of colour.
People march through the city during the 47th Berlin Pride, the demonstration for Christopher Street Day (CSD). Under the motto “Never be silent again”, 80 trucks with 100 different groups march through the city to demonstrate for diversity, human rights and the protection of minorities. Andreas Arnold/dpa
People take part in the 47th Berlin Pride, the demonstration for Christopher Street Day (CSD). Under the motto “Never be silent again”, 80 trucks with 100 different groups march through the city to demonstrate for diversity, human rights and the protection of minorities. Carsten Koall/dpa