Novelty on the Reichstag building: For the first time, the rainbow flag waved from there over Berlin. The occasion was Christopher Street Day, which was celebrated on the streets.
Berlin / Munich – A premiere for the rainbow flag in Germany: On Christopher Street Day in Berlin, the German Bundestag hoisted the colorful flag for the first time in the morning, which is considered a symbol of the queer community. A flag waved on Saturday on the Reichstag building and two more in front of it. Parliament is showing “the flag for tolerance and diversity,” said Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) in a video message. This makes it clear to everyone that “gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and intersexuals are a valuable part of our country”.
The rainbow flag was also hoisted at the Federal Council and in front of the Chancellery – these were also firsts. Numerous federal ministries also participated with flags or other activities in rainbow colors on their buildings. This became possible after Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) lifted a previously applicable ban on special flags in April. The rainbow flag may now be raised on certain occasions such as the CSD.
CSD in Berlin: Support for the Ukraine
Tens of thousands of people took part in the CSD rally. Often in colorful costumes and with a lot of party atmosphere, the participants marched towards the Brandenburg Gate in the afternoon under the motto “United in love – against hate, war and discrimination”. The police initially counted around 150,000 participants.
The organizers agreed RBB by as many as 600,000 participants. The party should go on into the night. There was widespread support for Ukraine, which had been attacked by Russia: “Make love, not war,” said one poster, but a banner also called for Ukraine to be armed. The police were on site with around 950 emergency services. According to a spokesman, there were no special incidents until the afternoon.
Christopher Street Day: “Berlin is and will remain the rainbow capital”
“Berlin is and will remain the rainbow capital,” declared the Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) on the 44th Christopher Street Day. The capital has “one of the largest LGBTI communities” in Europe. “This colorful variety enriches Berlin.”
Giffey continues: “Even today, people who consider themselves part of the LGBTI community are marginalized and even physically attacked. We must therefore resolutely oppose hatred and exclusion.” She encouraged citizens to “take a clear stance against it”.
Events at the end of the 1960s in the USA are remembered at the CSD. On June 28, 1969, police stormed the Stonewall Inn gay bar on New York’s Christopher Street. Days of heavy clashes between activists and security forces followed. The uprising is considered the birth of the modern gay and lesbian movement – because the oppressed fought back on that day. (cg with dpa)
At the Christopher Street Day in Munich, the Catholic parish vicar Wolfgang Rothe ran for the first time. The parade took place on Saturday (July 16).
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