1. It’s a demonstration – not a parade
The organizers of Christopher Street Day emphasize that they see the CSD as a “demonstration – and not as a parade”.
It dates back to the Stonewall riots on Christopher Street in New York City in June 1969. Police officers forcibly entered a Manhattan gay bar, which the queer community fought back. At the time, homosexuality was illegal in most parts of the United States.
A year later, on the anniversary of the riots, the first Pride march took place. The uprising is considered the beginning of the modern gay liberation movement. Since the rights of homosexuals are still contested in many parts of the world, Berlin’s Christopher Street Day is also committed to this fight.
2. Fight for more acceptance of underrepresented groups
This year’s CSD has the motto: “Be their voice – and ours! … for more empathy and solidarity!” The program focuses on four topics: The CSD wants to give underrepresented voices in the queer community a better hearing.
1. HIV/AIDS: People living with HIV in wealthier countries are largely able to lead normal lives thanks to modern medicine, but they still face discrimination and stigmatization.
2. Rainbow families: Marriage equality and adoption by same-sex couples have been legal in Germany since 2017.
3. Kink and fetish: These terms refer to consensual sexual practices, such as leather bondage, which are also common in the queer scene, but are also often stigmatized.
4. Safer Spaces for TIN/Bi+/Poly: TIN refers to trans and intersex as well as non-binary people. Bi+ refers to people who are attracted to multiple genders or things. Poly refers to polyamorous people, i.e. people who openly have multiple relationships, as well as polysexual people who openly have sex outside of relationships.
Not man – not woman – sexless!
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3. Top act at CSD 2023: Tokio Hotel
The CSD should be a huge party. Around half a million people have registered, plus 77 floats and more than 100 foot groups. Music is playing everywhere along the seven-kilometer route and especially on the last stretch in front of the Brandenburg Gate, and there are also food and sales stands.
Live music is also played there on a large stage. This year’s top act is the German electro-pop band Tokio Hotel. After the event, there are several official after-parties on the program, where you can dance until the early hours of the morning – or even longer.
LGBTQI in Germany
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4. Political presence
This year’s CSD is the first since Berlin’s Mayor Kai Wegner took office in April of this year. With him, for the first time in more than 20 years, someone from the ranks of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) was elected to office. His party has been criticized for not always siding with the queer community – under Chancellor Angela Merkel, a majority of MPs voted against marriage equality in 2017, and current leader Friedrich Merz linked gay men and child abuse in a 2020 interview. He received harsh criticism for this.
Berlin’s Mayor Wegner, however, consciously presents himself as an ally of the queer community. He appointed the social democrat Alfonso Pantisamo as the city’s first queer commissioner. Both will give speeches at the CSD.
5. Too much commerce and suspicion of infidelity
This year, the CSD organizers have come under fire. The accusation: Too much commerce at the event. For example, they would have allowed too many cars with company advertising. In addition, members of the management team are said to have embezzled funds, as was first reported in June by a Berlin newspaper. In the first instance, a Berlin court ruled in favor of the CSD team in this case, according to a press release dated July 17, further judgments are still pending.
Rainbow flag for the CSD at the Großer Stern in BerlinImage: Jens Kalaene/dpa/picture alliance
The event, organized by the Berlin CSD association, is just one of several Pride events taking place in the capital this summer. Most of them criticize the commercial nature of the biggest event in the queer community.
Adaptation from English: Sabine Oelze and Suzanne Cords