The Love Train techno parade that was to be staged in Berlin in August has been cancelled after a deadly attack on the city’s Pride celebrations.
Organizers of the Love Train parade noted that the event was facing logistical bottlenecks and that no agreement had been reached with city officials on noise levels.
Holding the parade this year would entail massive restrictions, from vehicle barriers to personal checks and heavily armed police officers, that would be against the spirit of the event, the organizers say.
“What made this decision unavoidable, however, is the perceptible change in the social climate,” they added.
The parade was originally due to be held on August 29.
Last year, around 10,000 participants joined the march through central Berlin to make a stand for tolerance, diversity and solidarity.
But the organizers referred to the fatal incident, saying it “drastically changed the situation” for the parade.
But much has changed since a woman was killed and 31 people were injured in the German capital’s Tiergarten park last weekend when a 21-year-old attacker drove into a crowd and stabbed passers-by.
The Islamist perpetrator was shot dead by police following a day-long manhunt.
However, a separate event called Rave the Planet is set to go ahead on August 15, organizers told broadcaster RBB.
“We have given it a great deal of thought. We have heard what the community wants,” says founder Matthias Roeingh, better known as Dr. Motte. His wife Ellen Dosch-Roeingh confirms, “The parade will take place.”
The techno parade, a successor to the famous Love Parade demonstrations that took place in the 1990s, is planned between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column in central Berlin, the site of the Pride celebrations.