The lesbian and gay city festival is taking place again after a two-year break due to the pandemic. On Saturday at lunchtime it is still quiet in the rainbow district at Nollendorfplatz in Schöneberg. Some equip their stands with flyers and stickers, others are already deep in conversations with the first visitors.

“I’m still exhausted from setting it up,” says Dana Wetzel, CEO of BiBerlin e.V. Her stand is on Eisenacher Straße, where almost all the major parties have a stand. “I’m happy to finally be back here after the long break. Our stand gets a little prettier every year and the festival gets even warmer and friendlier every time. Finally we see each other again, it’s like a family reunion,” she says happily.

BiBerlin e.V. is committed to the visibility of the bisexual community and wants to break down prejudices. “We often have to justify whether we’re queer enough,” says Karsten Otto, who also sits on the board at BiBerlin. “Bi is often meant, but not thought of.”

[In our newsletters we report weekly from the twelve districts of Berlin, for example Tempelhof-Schoeneberg. Free and compact: leute.tagesspiegel.de]

The sports world has gathered a few meters further on Fuggerstraße. In addition to representatives from Hertha and the rugby club “Berlin Bruisers”, there are also the Querplattler – the first gay Schuhplattler group from Berlin. “We’re more of an exotic group here. We are all Berliners, but we come from everywhere, not just from Bavaria,” says the second chairman, Dieter Nellessen.

“We are happy that the festival can take place again. We are a small group of ten to twelve active plattlers and are always looking for new members. Hopefully we can find some here!” The group dances regularly in front of their stand and on Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on the town festival stage.

The audience at the city festival is not only mixed because of the ubiquitous rainbow flags. Many older people watch the action with a cocktail or beer from one of the many roadside bars. But families with children, who don’t mind popsicles, candles or waffles in the form of genitals, also stroll through the streets.

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Sierra, Marley and Sasha are already dancing in front of one of the stages at noon. “We arrived from Colorado last night. We wanted to go to the best Pride festival and here we are. We love it!” says Sasha and then continues to dance. Ercan, Ben, Dennis and Kathrin, on the other hand, live around the corner. “People are starving and want to party. We wanted to see how it turns out,” says Ercan.

There are six stages at the city festival, but it’s not just about partying, says city festival visitor Alexander. “This is probably the most important Pride event in Berlin after the CSD. It is a space for discussion and enlightenment.”