Celebrate and protest during Pride Month in Berlin

Berlin is one of the queerest city’s in Europe, has a large LGBTQ+ community and even bigger Pride celebrations. During these celebrations Berlin’s gift for legendary parties and colourful festival come together, as the city celebrates freedom of expression and the right to love who you want.

Berlin Pride lasts for several weeks, filled with events such as workshops, panels, sports activities, shows, bar nights, parties and of course the big Pride Parade Demonstration. 2023 is the second year where Berlin celebrates a full month of “Pride Month”. This year the events take place from 28 June till 23 July.

Berlin has a long history of fighting for equal rights for same-sex love and the LGTBQ+ community. In 1896, the first gay magazine was launched here and in 1922 the city saw its first gay rights demonstration. Much of this progressive thinking was lost under the Nazi’s and it took time for the city to regain its previous open-mindedness.

In 1979, Berlin saw the first Christopher Street Day, with the theme “Gay Pride”. That day was held in memory of the Stonewall Riots a decade earlier in New York in a bar called Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street. This first Berlin CSD was a boisterous and cheerful event, without any hostilities or violence against participants recorded. Over the years, Berlin Pride has grown to see roughly 500,000 people celebrate in the city streets.

The motto of this year’s Christopher Street Day Berlin Pride is “Be their voice - and ours! For more empathy and solidarity!”. Pride events will start on Stonewall Day, 28 June, and culminate in the Pride Demonstration and rally on 22 July. Last year the organisation expended the celebrations to give Berliners and Berlin visitors more room to discus LGBTQIA issues and more opportunities for encounters with Berlin’s queer communities.

The list of events during this year’s Berlin Pride is extensive, with something for everyone. There are two demonstration marches during Pride Month, the Dyke March Berlin on 21 July, and the big Pride Demonstration on 22 July. During Pride Month, Berlin will host readings, workshops, movie nights, panels and a multitude of parties.

If you are visiting Berlin during Pride Month there are some activities that should be on your must-do list. Obviously, join in the celebrations and if possible take part in one of the demonstrations. And make sure you express yourself and be who you are, that is after all one of the main points of Pride.

You can try one of the city’s queer city tours, to learn more about why Berlin has been a magnet for the queer community for decades. Also, take the time to visit the Memorial to the Persecuted Homosexuals under National Socialism, and the world’s first gay history museum.