Two visions of Berlin pride: Club music at one event, mourning for Gaza at the other

There were two pride marches in Berlin on July 26.

One, organised by CSD Berlin, a registered NGO, was supported by major brands and corporations. Trucks bearing corporate logos rolled through the streets. Brand slogans floated on flags, club-style music blared from sound systems. Behind them, groups of revellers danced, posed, and marched in festive clusters.

In keeping with Berlin’s character, it is a technicolour procession, heavy on spectacle.

“This is a party,” said Yassi, 24, who works in hospitality. She identifies as lesbian.

I was with two other queer friends, Lisa and Charlie. We had taken the S-Bahn from Potsdam to Berlin and reached the Victory Column just as the CSD parade reached its final stop behind the Brandenburg Gate.

The mood there was jubilant, and familiar, much like the previous three prides I had attended.

But we weren’t staying.

We turned and left for the second march: the Internationalist Queer Pride.

Charlie, our usual route-finder, found us a back way after metro stations nearby were blocked off.

On the Telegram channel, IQP had just posted an alert: the police had attacked the demonstration; the march had temporarily stopped.

More updates followed, hinting at escalating tensions. Days earlier, the organisers had issued an advisory, not on party etiquette and sunscreen, but on protest safety. “Carry a lawyer’s number;...

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