Pride: Rainbow flag flies above Bundestag for first time
July 23, 2022
Germany's federal parliament, also known as the Bundestag, raised the rainbow flag for the first time on Saturday as the city held a parade and other events celebrating the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.
The flag, with its six colored stripes, stands for tolerance.
The flag was erected in the morning atop the southwest tower of the Reichstag building in the German capital, Berlin. Two more were raised in front of the east and west portals.
Full-scale Pride returns
After two years of COVID-related restrictions — leading to a virtual event in 2020 — a large-scale Pride, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day (CSD), took place this year, with organizers expecting up to 500,000 attendees during the course of the day. Police said 150,000 people took part in the parade.
It started at noon (1000 GMT) local time with a rally and a shower of confetti at Spittelmarkt in Berlin's Mitte district.
The subsequent march followed a path of 7.4 kilometers (4.6 miles) through several districts toward the centrally located Brandenburg Gate.
The governing mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey, lamented in a statement that sexual minorities were still discriminated against.
"Even today, people belonging to the LGBTIQ+ community are excluded and even physically attacked," she said. "We must therefore take a decisive stand against hate and exclusion."
A multi-religious service for CSD was held in one of Berlin's churches.
Berlin Pride is one of the largest events of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) community in Europe.
jsi/wd (AFP, dpa)