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The Local’s guide to Berlin’s Pride Week

Nearly a million people are expected to participate in Berlin’s Pride Week, which is one of Europe’s biggest gay and lesbian events. The Local brings you the highlights including the Stadtfest festival and the Christopher Street Day parade.

Published: 17 June 2011 07:20 CEST
The Local's guide to Berlin's Pride Week
Photo: DPA

A little history

First a primer on what this is all about. Germany’s gay pride celebrations are typically held around Christopher Street Day – named after New York City’s Christopher Street, home of the Stonewall Inn, where gay rights riots took place in 1969. The celebrations usually take place in late June, around the anniversary of the demonstrations.

But although Berlin has long had its own Christopher Street Day parade (usually just shortened to CSD) the city's vibrant gay scene demanded more, thus the creation of Stadtfest 19 years ago, a huge street festival which regularly attracts 400,000 visitors or more.

Germany is, of course, renowned for its tolerant atmosphere toward gays and lesbians, and in the 1920s and ‘30s Berlin was arguably Europe’s centre for gay life.

 

Stadtfest

Berlin’s annual street festival takes place around Nollendorfplatz, long a centre of the city’s gay community in the Schöneberg district, on June 18 and 19. With the theme “Equal Rights for the Unequal” this year, the celebration includes informational stands on sports, AIDS, politics and travel, among other topics.

There are five venues where visitors can hear music, dance and be seen and there’s the so-called “Wild Sofa” at the corner of Eisenacher Strasse and Fuggerstrasse where interviewers put tough questions to politicians and other prominent German figures.

Click here for Stadtfest's official website

Christopher Street Day

Only Cologne’s CSD rivals Berlin's gay pride parade, where 500,000 people turn up to celebrate in a massive party winding through city streets on June 25.

The procession begins at the historic Kurfürstendamm boulevard and ends at Brandenburg Gate where there’s partying, speeches and music. The Civil Courage Awards are given out there for human rights activism (incidentally one recipient last year rejected the prize after accusing CSD of being overly commercialized). This year’s honourees – two organizations as well as gay rights advocate Tanja Walther-Ahrens – have been fighting for equality in athletics.

Click here for CSD's official website

Pride week

Technically, the Pride Festival – a four-week-long cultural programme in the run up to CSD – has been going on since late May. But Pride Week sandwiched between Stadtfest and CSD, is the climax.

All through the week, Die Kurbel theatre (Giesebrechtstr. 4, die-kurbel.com) is screening gay-themed films.

There’s also the massive CSD opening party on June 24 at Tresor Club (Köpenicker Straße 70, tresorberlin.com), which attracts a mixed crowd from around the world.

Find out more on the CSD website.

Other highlights

If you’re into clubbing, Berlin offers what’s arguably the most diverse scene in the world. SchwuZ (Mehringdamm 61, schwuz.de) is good for the younger crowd, while the famous Berghain (Rüdersdorfer Straße 70, berghain.de) is mixed and somewhat hedonistic – there’s a separate sex club called Lab.Oratory (lab-oratory.de) accessible through a side entrance. For fetish-lovers, the area around Nollendorfplatz offers a wealth of interesting bars and clubs.

Stop by the monument outside the Nollendorfplatz subway to the gays and lesbians killed by Hitler during the Third Reich. There’s another monument in Tiergarten area (homo-denkmal.de). The city’s Gay Museum at SchwuZ (Mehringdamm 61, schwulesmuseum.de) is also worth a visit.

If you’re looking to get plugged into the gay scene longer-term in Berlin, you should stop by the Mann-O-Meter resource centre (Bülowstr. 106, mann-o-meter.de). Mann-O-Meter also sells the Berlin Pride Card, which offers discounts at merchants and other benefits during Pride Week.

The Sonntags Club cafe (Greifenhagener Straße 28, sonntags-club.de) in Prenzlauer Berg has meet-ups for every type of person. Lambda Berlin-Brandenburg (Manteuffelstraße 19, lambda-bb.de) is a good spot for young people wanting to socialize.

Many recent arrivals find the weekly 10 pm Thursday meet-ups for gay expats at the Perle Bar to be fun times to socialize as well (Sredzkistrasse 64, Queer Beer Thursday Facebook group or Queer Beer Thursday on Toytown).

Moises Mendoza

[email protected]

twitter.com/moisesdmendoza

 

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BERLIN

EXPLAINED: Berlin’s latest Covid rules

In response to rapidly rising Covid-19 infection rates, the Berlin Senate has introduced stricter rules, which came into force on Saturday, November 27th. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 27 November 2021 16:16 CET
Updated: 29 November 2021 14:17 CET
A sign in front of a waxing studio in Berlin indicates the rule of the 2G system
A sign in front of a waxing studio indicates the rule of the 2G system with access only for fully vaccinated people and those who can show proof of recovery from Covid-19 as restrictions tighten in Berlin. STEFANIE LOOS / AFP

The Senate agreed on the tougher restrictions on Tuesday, November 23rd with the goal of reducing contacts and mobility, according to State Secretary of Health Martin Matz (SPD).

He explained after the meeting that these measures should slow the increase in Covid-19 infection rates, which was important as “the situation had, unfortunately, deteriorated over the past weeks”, according to media reports.

READ ALSO: Tougher Covid measures needed to stop 100,000 more deaths, warns top German virologist

Essentially, the new rules exclude from much of public life anyone who cannot show proof of vaccination or recovery from Covid-19. You’ll find more details of how different sectors are affected below.

Shops
If you haven’t been vaccinated or recovered (2G – geimpft (vaccinated) or genesen (recovered)) from Covid-19, then you can only go into shops for essential supplies, i.e. food shopping in supermarkets or to drugstores and pharmacies.

Many – but not all – of the rules for shopping are the same as those passed in the neighbouring state of Brandenburg in order to avoid promoting ‘shopping tourism’ with different restrictions in different states.

Leisure
2G applies here, too, as well as the requirement to wear a mask with most places now no longer accepting a negative test for entry. Only minors are exempt from this requirement.

Sport, culture, clubs
Indoor sports halls will off-limits to anyone who hasn’t  been vaccinated or can’t show proof of recovery from Covid-19. 2G is also in force for cultural events, such as plays and concerts, where there’s also a requirement to wear a mask. 

In places where mask-wearing isn’t possible, such as dance clubs, then a negative test and social distancing are required (capacity is capped at 50 percent of the maximum).

Restaurants, bars, pubs (indoors)
You have to wear a mask in all of these places when you come in, leave or move around. You can only take your mask off while you’re sat down. 2G rules also apply here.

Hotels and other types of accommodation 
Restrictions are tougher here, too, with 2G now in force. This means that unvaccinated people can no longer get a room, even if they have a negative test.

Hairdressers
For close-contact services, such as hairdressers and beauticians, it’s up to the service providers themselves to decide whether they require customers to wear masks or a negative test.

Football matches and other large-scale events
Rules have changed here, too. From December 1st, capacity will be limited to 5,000 people plus 50 percent of the total potential stadium or arena capacity. And only those who’ve been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 will be allowed in. Masks are also compulsory.

For the Olympic Stadium, this means capacity will be capped at 42,000 spectators and 16,000 for the Alte Försterei stadium. 

Transport
3G rules – ie vaccinated, recovered or a negative test – still apply on the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses in Berlin. It was not possible to tighten restrictions, Matz said, as the regulations were issued at national level.

According to the German Act on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, people have to wear a surgical mask or an FFP2 mask  on public transport.

Christmas markets
The Senate currently has no plans to cancel the capital’s Christmas markets, some of which have been open since Monday. 

According to Matz, 2G rules apply and wearing a mask is compulsory.

Schools and day-care
Pupils will still have to take Covid tests three times a week and, in classes where there are at least two children who test positive in the rapid antigen tests, then tests should be carried out daily for a week.  

Unlike in Brandenburg, there are currently no plans to move away from face-to-face teaching. The child-friendly ‘lollipop’ Covid tests will be made compulsory in day-care centres and parents will be required to confirm that the tests have been carried out. Day-care staff have to document the results.

What about vaccination centres?
Berlin wants to expand these and set up new ones, according to Matz. A new vaccination centre should open in the Ring centre at the end of the week and 50 soldiers from the German army have been helping at the vaccination centre at the Exhibition Centre each day since last week.

The capacity in the new vaccination centre in the Lindencenter in Lichtenberg is expected to be doubled. There are also additional vaccination appointments so that people can get their jabs more quickly. Currently, all appointments are fully booked well into the new year.

 

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