Loved up: Berlin’s Love Parade

Festival Essentials

Where: Berlin, Germany
When: July
What’s it about: celebrating the unifying power of House and Techno music with 1.5 million revellers and some of the world’s top DJs
Remember to bring: a pair of comfortable shoes for all the dancing you’ll be doing

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’sTiergarten 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.

MORE INFORMATION

Official Love Parade Website
For pictures and more history of the celebration, including the build up for next July’s event.

2 Camels: Love Parade
For reviews of the on the parade and anecdotes from party-goers.

By Katie Drew