According to the organizers, an incredible 520,000 people came last year, making the event the largest for the community in southern Germany. And this year, if the weather is good, it could be even bigger and more colorful. There will be more participants in the political parade on Saturday, June 22nd, and even more party areas at the big street festival in the city center all weekend.
A recent survey has shown that acceptance of queer people has once again risen slightly. Reason to celebrate! Is everything rosy, then? No, say the five sponsoring associations of the Munich CSD. The CSD is and remains a political event at which equal rights and acceptance are fought for. The number of attacks on members of the community has increased, and anti-queer debates are repeatedly triggered.
The danger comes from the right and the populists, they say. That’s why this year’s motto is: “United in diversity – together against the right.” CSD Munich managing director Alexander Kluge hopes: “That the entire colorful and queer-solidary city society will unite behind our motto and that we will stand together for democracy and freedom.”
What is on offer at the street festival?
Rainbow colors will spread throughout the city center on the CSD weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, June 22nd and 23rd, from 12 noon until late into the night. The entire area with 80 information stands and many stages is divided into six areas. The main stage is on Marienplatz in front of the town hall. The festival will be officially opened here on Saturday, June 22nd, at 3:25 p.m. by Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD), and this is where the important political speeches and commemorative moments will take place.
The CSD scene stars will also perform in front of the town hall, on Saturday they will include Kai Iden (electro-popper from Paris, 7.10 p.m.), Migati (NDW-Electro-Clash, 7:50 p.m.) and Luna (singer-songwriter, 9 p.m.). The big spectacle on Sunday is the drag pumps race, a competition in the disciplines of wig styling, handbag throwing and showstopping performance (4:25 p.m.). Brave people can register until June 17 at [email protected]. In the evening, Slatec (a part of Jazzrausch Bigband8.30 p.m.) and the Goth rapper Cobrah (9.20 p.m.).
At the “little sister”, the community stage on Kaufingerstrasse, things are not quite as wild. Here there are panel discussions and musicians like the indie poppers VanGoy (Saturday, 7.20 pm) and the women’s big band Groove Sistaz (Sunday, 7.45 p.m.), the famous May Queens will also deliver their queer show (3.30 p.m.).
A new third stage is on Wittelsbacherplatz, which will be used by the young club and drag scene with shows and electronic dance music (only on Saturdays). The party area on Odeonsplatz will move from the Feldherrenhalle to the Reiterdenkmal, where the services at the Theatinerkirche will not be disturbed and there will be more space. Mothers, fathers and children will find their oasis for playing, taking a breather and chatting on Frauenplatz in front of the cathedral.
The Munich Löwen Club is celebrating its “50th fetish anniversary” at the Rindermarkt. There is a special program with a fashion show, the Bavarian Mr. Leather, a matchmaking show, health tips, music and “captivating conversations” about bondage – “completely un-dirty” is promised.
Why does the political parade leave out Gärtnerplatz?
The heart of the Pride Parade, Gärtnerplatz, will be left out for the first time this year. “It is with a heavy heart,” says CSD chief organizer Alex Kluge, that the detour to one of the favorite neighborhoods has to be canceled: “For safety reasons.” In 2023, the narrow access roads to Gärtnerplatz were already overcrowded with onlookers and revelers, and the sprawling floats could hardly get through. And even more parade participants have registered for 2024.
The 209 groups – last year there were 181 – are traditionally led by the “Dykes on Bikes” on motorcycles, Mayor Dieter Reiter and the Munich Aids Help organization. They are followed by groups such as the youth of the German Life Saving Society, the Schwuhplattler, the musicians of the Philhomoniker, the lesbian choir Melodiva, activists from Slutwalk, Munich football women, Techno is colorful, the US Consulate General, companies from Disney to BMW to Siemens and also queer representatives of the Munich authorities, such as a turntable ladder truck from the fire department.
The parade will stay on the larger streets on Saturday, June 22nd. The start is at Mariahilfplatz in the Au. The procession will set off at 12 noon on the slightly longer route of 3.7 kilometers. This leads over the Reichenbach Bridge to Fraunhoferstrasse, makes a loop over Müllerstrasse past the queer centers Sub and LeZ and the interviewers of the live streaming team to Blumenstrasse in the direction of Sendlinger Tor, the parade moves over Stachus to Maximiliansplatz and ends at Karolinenplatz.
What is being done to ensure security?
The biggest challenge for security is the huge influx of revelers. The CSD operations center in the town hall works closely with the police, who are also out in plain clothes, and the fire department, and they even send security and medical services throughout the entire area.
In the new overcrowding concept, the flow of visitors is to be better distributed using a traffic light warning system: Anyone who wants to come to the Pride weekend will find out on all online channels and in the live stream via the colors where there is still space (green), where it is getting tight (yellow) and where it is already full: If the light is red, spaces and subway entrances can also be blocked off.
Anyone who needs help in an emergency or who observes or experiences transgressive and discriminatory behavior can contact the CSD Awareness Team. The trained staff wear light blue T-shirts and can also be reached by phone at 0160/99802994.
In the future, guests with disabilities will also be better cared for: a two-person inclusion team will collect feedback in the new tent at the Fischbrunnen, where those affected, such as wheelchair users, encounter limitations at the CSD.
What contributions come from Kyiv and the other twin cities?
Since 2012, it has been a tradition for activists from the Ukrainian LGBTIQ community to walk at the front of the political parade in Munich. This year, too, guests are travelling from Kyiv and marching in the organizers’ block. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has worsened the situation of queer people there, says Conrad Breyer from Munich Kyiv Queer, the contact group: “People are now plagued by completely different worries,” radicals are gaining support, “vulnerable groups like LGBTIQ are suffering particularly in the war.”
Munich Kyiv Queer will be collecting donations for queer war victims in Ukraine at the CSD in Munich. The situation there will be a recurring topic, including at its own information stand. On Saturday, the war victims will be commemorated on the main stage at Marienplatz (4:55 p.m.), and Ukrainian guests will report on their experiences on the community stage on Kaufingerstrasse.
The drag cabaret show “Munich Kyiv Extravaganza” is considered to be a highlight of the Pride culture month (Tuesday, June 18, 8 p.m., Wannda Circus, Völckerstrasse). Musicians and drag artists from Ukraine will also perform there with the hosts from Bavaria (such as Pasta Parisa); the organizer speaks of a “unique fusion of drag and Ukrainian culture.” The queer quiz at the Lesbian-Queer Center LeZ will also ask questions with a focus on Ukraine, such as “How often has Ukraine won the ESC?” (Müllerstrasse 26, Friday, June 21, 7 p.m.).
The Munich CSD has a total of eight “sisters”, so guests are also expected from Cincinnati, Edinburgh, Bordeaux, Verona, Harare and Sapporo. Since 2022, an exchange has also been organized with Munich’s newest twin city, Be’er Sheva in Israel. A delegation almost arrived for the first time in 2024, but after the Hamas attack, this is not possible.
Are there still tickets available for the Town Hall Clubbing?
One of the most popular events is the Town Hall Clubbing (Saturday, June 22, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.). Here, for the 20th time, you can dance where the city politicians usually work. The large meeting room with its wooden floor, for example, will be cleared out and turned into a ballroom for classic couple dancing. There will be a Flinta floor by the Wut-Kollektiv, a techno room by Garry Klein, a pop and hit area and more. The 1,000 tickets went on presale on May 4 – and were gone after 90 seconds. But if the weather plays along and the guests can spread out in the courtyard and the open-air areas, another 500 tickets will be given away at the information stand at the Fischbrunnen on Saturday at 11 a.m.
What else can you experience in the week before the CSD?
Christopher Street Day in Munich is a whole month of Pride with 100 events spread across the entire city. In the Seidlvilla, for example, an exhibition by six artists who have portrayed queer senior citizens is on display until July 23.
In the week before the CSD finale, the events are concentrated: On Sunday, June 16, people will meet for the “Pride Picnic” at Kleinhesseloher See in the English Garden (4 p.m.) and for the anniversary celebration “25 years of Schwuhplattler” in the Volkstheater (6 p.m.). In the exhibition “Viktor & Rolf – Fashion Statements” at the Hypo-Kunsthalle, the two artists themselves will talk about their 30-year collaboration (Tuesday, 8.15 p.m.). On the eve of the CSD, people will watch films and dance with DJ Eleni at the lesbian cinema event “Love Lies Bleeding” (Mathäser Kino, 8 p.m.), and the warm-up party will take place on the roof terrace of the Hotel Deutsche Eiche (5 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.).