The organizers of the Christopher Street Day (CSD) in Berlin have drawn a positive balance. A strong signal went out from the large demonstration and other events around it on Saturday, said spokeswoman Sandrina Koemm-Benson on Sunday of the German Press Agency.
“We are many and we are loud. And we won’t be silenced. We stand up for our rights,” the spokeswoman said. The CSD has shown once again that political goals can also be represented with a lot of fun and thus convince many people.
The Berlin CSD is one of the largest events of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex community (LGBTQI) in Europe. On Sunday, hundreds of thousands took part in a colorful parade through several Berlin districts, and in the evening there was a big festival at the Brandenburg Gate.
The organizers estimated the number of participants at a total of 600,000. The police initially spoke of around 150,000 participants and later in the evening updated the number to 350,000.
The police and organizers agreed that there had been no major incidents. “Everything was well organized, hand in hand with the police,” said the CSD spokeswoman. “When so many people come together, there are always a few smaller cases. But nothing out of the ordinary in the crowd,” said a police spokesman, referring to isolated crimes.
