Munich is looking forward to what is probably the biggest Christopher Street Day (CSD) in the city’s history this Saturday. According to the organizer, 181 groups and initiatives have registered for the train this year. The parade, which is traditionally intended to draw attention to the rights of gays, lesbians, queers and trans people, starts at 12 noon with colorfully decorated floats at Mariahilfplatz and moves through the city center from there. Last year up to 27,000 people took part, 400,000 spectators celebrated with them, this time there could be even more.
Patron is Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD). On the stage at Marienplatz there are Saturdays and Sundays music as well as speeches – a highlight should be the appearance of Eurovision Song Contest winner Conchita Wurst at the end on Sunday evening.
There had been excitement around the parade in advance. The organizers had uninvited the CSU parliamentary group in the city council from the demonstration in May – among other things because of the sometimes violent criticism from CSU politicians of a children’s book reading with a drag king in the city library.
The focus of this year’s CSD parade is the demand on the Bavarian state government for an action plan against anti-queer violence. The advice center “Strong!” recorded 159 incidents last year, including insults, physical attacks, sexual assaults, rapes and stalking – with an upward trend, as the CSD organizers emphasize. CSD organizers from all over Free State have joined the call for an action plan. Before the state elections in October, they are also calling for more tolerance to be promoted in Bavarian schools.
The Christopher Street Day as the highlight of the “Pride Weeks” has grown steadily – with the peak of 400,000 spectators according to the organizers last year. The parade was therefore brought forward from July to June this year, because then no other major events are scheduled in the city center at the same time. “We wanted to create space for the CSD in the future,” says Alexander Kluge, managing director of the Munich CSD, according to a statement. The route was also extended this year.
The route of the parade and the downtown party zones.
(Photo: SZ map: jje/Mapcreator.io/OSM/CSD Munich)
Road users must therefore be prepared for disabilities on Saturday. Several tram and bus routes are being diverted because of the parade, informs the Munich transport company. The tram lines 16, 18, 19 and 21 as well as the bus lines 52, 58, 62 and 132 are affected. Drivers should also be prepared for disabilities around Mariahilfplatz and the train route, according to the police.
A police spokesman did not want to provide any information on Thursday about the number of police officers who are supposed to ensure security around the CSD. However, one plans with “sufficient emergency services according to the situation”. The fact that a planned attack with an Islamist background on the Rainbow Parade there was foiled last weekend in Vienna naturally flows into the planning. “But there is no specific threat to the CSD in Munich,” said the police spokesman.