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Where's the party?
Each year, Berlin, Germany's lively and cosmopolitan Capital
City, hosts the world's largest techno dance party, the Love
Parade. The street parade, which takes place in July,
is a tour de force in the German contemporary dance music
scene.
History of the Love Parade
Founded in 1989 by Dr. Motte, the parade was started as a
'House Music Demonstration' an alternative to leaflets and
pamphlets in the bid to achieve unification and the destruction
of the Berlin Wall. Dr. Motte therefore describes the yearly
gathering as a celebration of not only music but of reunification
- he is often quoted: 'Music speaks in thousands of languages
and is understood by all … it has no borders and no nationality'.
What happens at the Love Parade?
A decade on, the parade attracts nearly 1.5 million ravers
to the streets of Berlin who come from all over the world
to join the party. Over 40 huge trucks are laden with sound
systems supporting a cast of over 1500 DJs including Techno
favourites such as Pete Tong and Felix Da Housecat.
The parade dances its way along Unter den Linden, through
the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) and into Berlin's
Tiergarten Park.
Recent criticisms of the Parade have been over its decline
in numbers (since and all time high in 1999) and over the
huge levels of pollution both in noise and detritus caused
by the parade. Despite this the parade continued this year
in its new expanded form - stretching further than the borders
of Germany to parades in Israel, South Africa and Australia.
Worldwide people danced under the LP 2003 Motto: Love Rules,
and to tunes and grooves spun by the likes of Tomcraft,
Moguai, Roger Sanchez and Paul Van Dyke.
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