Christopher Street Day
Christopher Street Day in Berlin presents its political demands with a colourful parade.
When, on 28 June 1969 in Christopher Street in New York, drag queens and transsexual Latinas rebelled against recurring indiscriminate police raids on bars with transsexual and homosexual patrons, this triggered several days of street riots – and a global movement championing the rights of “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex” (“LGBTI”) persons. Christopher Street Day parades have long been held in Germany, with the largest two being in Cologne and Berlin. In 2015 over 750,000 people attended Christopher Street Day (CSD) in Berlin, demonstrating for LGBTI human rights in a massive splash of cheerful colour. In 2016 the demands are as follows: equal rights in marriage and the family, participation not stigma, acceptance through education, diversity is richness, intergenerational cooperation, and protect LGBTI refugees. The extensive cultural programme accompanying the event will kick off with Benjamin Boyce’s 1990s hit “Love Is Everywhere” and will culminate in the urban sounds of Culcha Candela. To mark the occasion, the German Federal Foreign Office is hanging the international logo for human rights as a banner on its façade in the rainbow colours, which stand for the emancipation of LGBTI people worldwide.
Christopher Street Day Berlin on 23 July 2016
